“In their histories there is certainly a lesson for men of understanding.” Qur'an,12:111.
The ideal woman
Asiya was the wife of the Pharaoh who was arrogant, wicked and malicious besides his bad beliefs and reprobate doings.
The Holy Qur'an describes the Pharaoh that he was unjust, proud, criminal, bloodshedder and tyrant.
Asiya sat on the throne beside the Pharaoh as the queen of that great country where everything was in her hand.
Asiya was a ruler as her husband was. She had great authorities and she could take whatever she wanted from the treasury of the kingdom and the wealth of the country.
Of course, the life beside such a husband in that form of government and power and that royal palace, which was full of servants, slaves and retinue, was a life full of pleasure, entertainment and happiness.
But this young woman, who was powerful and in that fascinating environment, one day heard the voice of the truth and the call of reality via the messenger of Allah Moses the son of Imran (s). She knew then the nullity of her belief, the falseness of her culture and the ugliness of her husband’s deeds. The light of the truth shone in her heart and in spite of that, she knew well that accepting this truth would make her lose all what she had of power, position and wealth and even she might lose herself and life too, in spite of all that, she did not cling to her luxurious environment. She accepted the truth and believed in the Divine religion and she submitted to Allah the Almighty. She got ready to enter the field of repentance and to do good deeds to reform her afterlife.
Repentance was not an easy and simple thing to Asiya. She must, for the sake of repentance, leave all the affairs of her life and get prepared for blame, scold and different kinds of torment from the Pharaoh and his assistants. Nevertheless, she entered the field of repentance, faith, guidance and good deeds. Her repentance cost the Pharaoh too much because it was spread in the town that the wife of the Pharaoh, the powerful queen, had given up the belief of her husband and believed in the religion of Moses the messenger of Allah. All the means of tempting and threatening by the Pharaoh and his assistants did not affect her because she had found the truth with her heart and mind and she discovered the emptiness and falseness of the mirage reality of the authority. She could not replace the light of the truth with the darkness of the untruth and the abyss of deviation. Yes! How could she replace Allah with the Pharaoh, the truth with the untruth, light with darkness, right with wrong, the afterlife with the worldly life, Paradise with Hell and happiness with wretchedness?
Thus Asiya insisted on faith, repentance and turning to Allah and on the other side the Pharaoh insisted on taking her back to falseness and to his company.
When the Pharaoh saw that all the means did not make any use with Asiya to bring her back to his company, he became too angry and he felt that he had been defeated before her steadfastness. He gave his command to torture her and to crucify her and thus Asiya was hung with nails in her hands and legs and then after severe torment she was sentenced to death. The Pharaoh ordered his men to throw a big and heavy rock on her body but Asiya was patient before all that for the sake of Allah. She prayed Allah, under that cruel torment, to accept her repentance and her turning to Him.
Thus we find the Holy Qur'an giving the example of Asiya, the wife of the Pharaoh, for all the human beings and the believing men and women as an example of noble and virtuous man. It is because of her real repentance, faith, jihad, patience, certainty, steadfastness and determination so that no excuse remains for sinful persons in every nation and at every time. No sinful person, after this, can say that he, in certain states and circumstances, has had no way to repent, turn to Allah, believe and do good deeds. Allah has said,
“And Allah sets forth an example to those who believe the wife of Firon (Pharaoh) when she said: My Lord! build for me a house with Thee in the garden and deliver me from Firon and his doing, and deliver me from the unjust people.” Qur'an, 66:11
Asiya has got a high position of greatness, honor and dignity for her repentance, faith, patience and straightness that the Prophet (s) has said about her, ‘Paradise has longed for four women; Maryam (Mary) bint[1] Imran, Asiya bint Muzahim the wife of the Pharaoh, Khadeeja bint Khuwailid, the wife of the Prophet (s) in the worldly life and in the afterlife, and Fatima bint Muhammad.’[2]
The Repentance of Sha’wana
Mulla Ahmad an-Naraqi in his moral book Mi’raj as-Sa’ada concerning real repentance mentions a wonderful story about that. He says,
‘Sha’wana was a young girl. She was a dancer and she had a nice voice. She did not care for permissible or impermissible things. Whenever a meeting of debauchery was held in Basra in which young people and wealthy men gathered, Sha’wana was invited to delight them. She sang and danced to move in those polluted people pleasure and joy. With Sha’wana, there was a group of women and young girls.
One day while Sha’wana was going with her friends to a meeting of the same meetings of her, she heard painful weeping and loud crying coming from one of the houses. She was astonished. She asked, ‘What is the matter? What is that crying for?’ She sent one of her friends to see what the matter was. Her friend went but she did not come back. She sent another one to that house but she did not come back too. She sent a third woman to see what the matter was and she insisted on her to come back and not to let her wait too long. She went and after sometime she came back and said, ‘O my lady, this crying was of the sinful and dissolute people.’
Sha’wana said, ‘It would be better that I myself go and see what is there.’ She approached that meeting and saw a preacher preaching the people and talking to them about the hereafter and reciting through his speech this Qur’anic verse,
“When it shall come into their sight from a distant place, they shall hear its (Hell) vehement raging and roaring. And when they are cast into a narrow place in it, bound, they shall there call out for destruction.” Qur'an, 25:13
When she heard this verse and knew its meaning with her heart and soul, she cried and said, ‘O preacher! I am one of the sinful women. I am polluted with sins and now I feel shy and regretful. Will my repentance be accepted by Allah the Creator?’
The preacher said, ‘Yes, your sins can be forgiven even if they are as much as the sins of Sha’wana!’ She said, ‘Woe unto me! I am Sha’wana. My sins have become so much that I have become as an example to sinful people. O preacher, since now I give up sins and become abstinent and I will never attend the meetings of debauchery.’
The preacher said, ‘Allah is the most Merciful of the merciful ones even to you.’
Thus Sha’wana repented in a real repentance and became one of the real worshippers until her body, which had grown out of (the monies of) sins, melted, her heart suffered and crying and weeping pained her too much. One day she looked at herself and said, ‘Ah! This is my life in this world so how about my afterlife!’ She heard from her inside a voice saying to her, ‘Keep on worship and you will know how your afterlife will be.’
Repenting in the battlefield
Nasr bin Muzahim mentions in his book Waq’at (battle of) Siffeen that Hashim al-Mirqal has gone with a group of the Qur'an reciters to support Ameerul Mo’mineen (Imam Ali) (s) in the battle of Siffeen when he saw a young man from the army of Mo’awiya reciting some verses of poetry and challenging that someone might fight him. He abused Imam Ali (s), cursed him and dispraised him too much. Hashim al-Mirqal said to him, ‘After this speech there is enmity and after this fighting there is punishment. Fear Allah because you will return to Him and He will ask you about this situation and what you have intended to do.’ The young man said, ‘I will fight you because your man (Imam Ali) does not offer prayers as I have been told…
Hashim said that he had showed him the truth and proved to him the deception of Mo’awiya. When he knew the truth, he apologized, repented, turned to Allah and joined the army of Imam Ali (s).
The repentance of the Jew young man
Imam al-Baqir (s) said, ‘There was a Jew young man who often came to the Prophet (s) until the Prophet (s) became familiar with him. The Prophet (s) might send him to do something for him or might send with him a book to his people. The Prophet (s) missed him for some days and he asked about him. It was said to him that the Jew had been in the last day of his life. The Prophet (s) with some of his companions visited him. The Prophet (s) had a charisma that whomsoever he talked to answered him. He called out the name of the Jew and the Jew opened his eyes and said, ‘O Abul Qassim,[3] here I am!’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘Say: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.’ The young man looked at his father and he did not say anything to him. The Prophet (s) asked him again and he looked at his father who he did not say anything to him. Then the Prophet (s) asked him for the third time to say the shahada. The young man looked at his father and his father said to him, ‘If you want, say the shahada and if you do not want, do not do.’ The young man said to the Prophet (s), ‘I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and you are the messenger of Allah.’ After a moment the young man died. The Prophet (s) asked the young man’s father to leave them alone and then he said to his companions, ‘Wash him (do ghusl to the dead), enshroud him and then bring him to me to offer the prayer for him.’ Then the Prophet (s) went out saying, ‘Praise be to Allah who has saved by me a person from the Hell today.’[4]
A nomad repenting of disbelief and polytheism
Imam as-Sadiq (s) said that the Prophet (s) had said to his companions during one of his battles, ‘A man will come to you from one of these mountain passes. He has desisted from following Iblis since three days.’ It was not long until a Bedouin appeared. His skin had stuck to his bones, his eyes had disappeared in his head and his lips had become green because of eating legumes. He asked about the Prophet (s) until he met him. He said to the Prophet (s), ‘Offer Islam to me!’ The Prophet (s) said to him, ‘Say: I witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.’ The man said, ‘I witness.’ The Prophet (s) said to him, ‘You are to pray five times and to fast in Ramadan.’ He said, ‘I acknowledge.’ The Prophet (s) said to him, ‘You are to perform the hajj to the Kaaba, to pay the zakat and to do ghusl of janaba.’[5] He said, ‘I acknowledge.’ After that, the Bedouin with his camel had fallen behind. The Prophet (s) stopped and asked about him. Some people went back looking for him. They found that the hoof of the camel had fallen into a hole of the rats and so the camel had fallen to the ground. The neck of the Bedouin and the neck of his camel had broken and they both were dead. The Prophet (s) ordered his companions to erect a tent in which he washed the dead Bedouin and enshroud him. The people heard that the Prophet (s) was moving here and there inside the tent. When the Prophet (s) went out of the tent, his forehead was sweating. He said, ‘This Bedouin died while he was hungry. He had believed (in Allah) and his faith was not mixed with injustice. The Houris[6] hurried to him with the fruits of Paradise filling his mouth. This one (Houri) said, ‘O messenger of Allah, make me one of his wives’ and that one said, ‘O messenger of Allah, make me one of his wives!’[7]
The repentance of Shaqeeq al-Balkhi
Shaqeeq was one of the wealthy people’s children. Once he went on trade to the land of the Turks while he was a young boy yet. He entered into a house of idols. He saw there an employee who had shaved his head and beard and put on purple cloths. Shaqeeq said to the employee, ‘You have a live and knowing Maker. Worship Him and do not worship these idols which neither harm nor benefit!’
The employee said to Shaqeeq, ‘If it is as you say, then He (the Maker) is able to provide you with the means of subsistence in your country but why you have toiled all the way for trading here?’
Shaqeeq considered too much and followed the way of asceticism.
Shaqeeq said, ‘I have asked seven hundred scholars about five things and all of them have given the same answers. I asked, ‘Who is rational?’ They said, ‘A rational person is one who does not love the worldly life.’ I asked, ‘Who is good?’ They said, ‘A good person is one who is not deceived by the worldly life.’ I asked, ‘Who is rich?’ They said, ‘A rich person is one who is satisfied with what Allah has given to him.’ I asked, ‘Who is poor?’ They said, ‘A poor person is one who wishes to have more and more.’ I asked, ‘Who is stingy?’ They said, ‘A stingy person is one who does not give the right of Allah from his properties.’[8]
The angels and the sins of the repentant
It has been mentioned that the angels ascend to the Heaven with the sins of a person and when they submit them to the Guarded Tablet, they find good deeds (written) instead of these sins and then they prostrate themselves and say, ‘O our Lord, You know that we have written against him (the sinful one) just what he has done.’ Then Allah will say, ‘You said the truth but my servant repented of his sin and interceded with me by his tears and so I forgave his sin and granted him generously and I am the Most Bounteous.[9]
A sinful one and the time-limit of repentance
It has been mentioned that when Allah had cursed Iblis, Iblis asked Allah to respite him and Allah respited him until the Day of Resurrection. Allah said to him, ‘What will you do?’ He said, ‘I swear by Your loftiness that I will not go out of Your servant’s chest until he dies.’ The Lord said, ‘By My glory and loftiness, I will not prevent my servant from repentance until he dies.’[10]
The sinful and the hope of repentance
It has been mentioned that Yazeed bin Marthad always cried and his tears did not stop. When he was asked about that, he said, ‘If Allah has threatened me if I committed a sin, He would imprison me in the bathroom, it would make my tears not stop so how would it be where Allah has threatened to imprison me in a fire which He has kindled for three thousand years? He has kindled the fire for one thousand years until it has become red and then for one thousand years until it has become white and then for one thousand years until it has become black. It is black like the dark night.’[11]
The truthful one and the repentant one
It has been mentioned that Abu Umar al-Zujaji, who was a pious man, had said, ‘My mother died and I inherited a house. I sold the house for fifty dinars and I went to perform the hajj. When I arrived at Babylon, one of the members of the caravan met me and said, ‘What is there with you?’ I said to myself, ‘Truthfulness is good.’ I said to him, ‘Fifty dinars.’ He said, ‘Give them to me!’ I gave him the pouch. He opened it and he saw the fifty dinars. He said to me, ‘Take them! I have been taken by your truthfulness.’ Then he got down of his sumpter and said to me, ‘Ride it!’ I said, ‘I do not want.’ He insisted on me and I rode it. He said, ‘I will follow you.’ In the next year he joined me and he kept to me until he died.’[12]
The neighbor of Abu Baseer
One has to take care of his neighbors in everything and has to be as a kind brother to them. He has to care for their problems, comfort them in their sorrows, help them in the different affairs of their lives and support them in the disasters. But the neighbor of Abu Baseer was not of this kind.
Abu Baseer said, ‘I had a neighbor who followed the rulers and therefore he had got a plenty of money. He bought some songsters and he often made meetings and drank wines. He always troubled me. I complained at him to himself more than one time but he did not desist from his doings. When I insisted on him, he said to me, ‘O man, I am afflicted and you are safe! Would you please introduce me to your friend (Imam as-Sadiq(s))? I hope that Allah may save me by you.’ I was affected by his saying. When I went to Abu Abdullah (Imam as-Sadiq) (s), I mentioned to him the state of this man. He said to me, ‘When you go back to Kufa, the man will come to you. Say to him, ‘Ja’far bin Muhammad (as-Sadiq) says to you: give up all what you do and have and I assure Paradise to you by the will of Allah.’ When I went back and told my neighbor of that, he cried and said, ‘By Allah, did Ja’far say that?’ I swore before him that Imam as-Sadiq had said that. He said, ‘This suffices me’ and left. After some days he sent for me. I found him naked behind the door of his house. He said to me, ‘O Abu Baseer, nothing remained in my house. I have got rid of everything and now I am as you see.’ I went to my friends and collected to him what I could clothe him with. After a few days, he sent for me that he was ill. I visited him and cured him from time to time until he was about to die. I was sitting near him when he was dying. He fainted for a moment and then he came to his consciousness and said to me, ‘O Abu Baseer, your friend (Imam as-Sadiq) has carried out his promise to us’ and then he died. When I went to the hajj, I visited Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (s). I got permission and came into the house. He said while my leg was in the courtyard and the other was in the vestibule of his house, ‘O Abu Baseer, we have carried out our promise to your friend.’[13]
The repentance of the thief
One night I have got the honor of offering the prayer in Holy Qum behind the great scholar and the lofty knowledgeable, the teacher of ethics the deceased Hajji Redha Baha’uddeeni. After the prayer I said to this great scholar, ‘I am in need of your advice and precious words.’ He said, ‘Let your hope be in Allah the Generous, the Ever Abundant Giver. He does not prevent anyone from His care and mercy. He Himself prepares the ground and the means for the guidance and deliverance of His people.’ Then he mentioned to me a wonderful story narrated by a caravanner from Aromiya (north of Iran) who brought with him a caravan of pilgrims and travelers to Holy Mashhad every year. The caravanner said, ‘Traveling by cars has recently started. A traveler at that time put his baggage with him in the same place where he sat because the cars then were trucks. Travelers sat in the place of baggage and furniture and beside them they accumulated their baggage.
In one of the travels to visit the holy shrine of Imam ar-Redha (s) there were thirty travelers with me in the car. Our travel was decided to be at the beginning of the following week. I saw Imam ar-Redha (s) in my sleep. He said to me with special kindness and love, ‘Bring with you in this travel Ibraheem the thief who steals the pockets of people.’ I awoke astonishedly. I thought about the reason that had made Imam ar-Redha (s) ask me to bring this dissolute man who was famous of debauchery and whose fame among people was too bad. I thought that this dream was just one of the confused and untrue dreams. In the following night I saw the same dream but nevertheless I paid no attention to it. In the third night, I saw in my sleep Imam ar-Redha (s) who was angry. He said to me angrily, ‘Why did you not do what I have ordered you?’
On Friday I went to the quarter in which the wicked and dissolute people often gathered. I saw this Ibraheem among them. I went near him and greeted him. I invited him to visit the holy shrine of Imam ar-Redha (s). he became astonished and said to me, ‘The shrine of Imam ar-Redha (s) is not fit to be visited by those who are polluted with sins. There are many pious and pure lovers. Please exempt me from this travel.’ I insisted on him but he did not accept. Then he said to me sharply and angrily, ‘I do not have the cost of travel. In fact, I have just thirty rials and I have got them illegally. I have stolen them from a poor old woman.’ I said to him, ‘I do not want any fare from you for this travel. I am responsible for your going and coming. You are my guest in this travel.’ At last, he agreed to come with me to Mashhad. It was decided that the caravan would set out on Sunday.
We set out and our travel began. All the travelers were astonished at the presence of Ibraheem, the thief, among them but no one of them dared to ask such a question.
The car moved with all these travelers and their baggage to cross a long earthy way through mountains and valleys. We arrived near Zaydar. It was unsafe area and it was the place of the Turkmen highwaymen. Suddenly we saw that the way was closed by one of the wicked highwaymen. The car stopped and the highwayman got on. He shouted at the travelers, ‘Throw all the money you have in this bag and do not try to resist because definitely you will be killed.’
He took all the monies the driver and the travelers had and left the car. The car moved and after several hours it reached Zaydar. It stopped in front of a café. The travelers got down and sat at the side of the way shadowed by a cloud of sorrow and pain because of what they had faced. The unhappiest one among them was the driver who said, ‘No money remained with me at all. I do not have even the price of gasoline and the spending of the car; therefore it is too difficult for us to arrive at our destination.’ Then he burst into tears because of distress. But suddenly and before the astonished eyes of the travelers Ibraheem, the thief, got up and took a pouch of money out of his pocket and said to the driver, ‘How much money did the highwayman take from you?’ The driver mentioned a certain amount and Ibraheem paid him that amount. Then Ibraheem came to the travelers one by one and gave them the stolen monies and then nothing remained in the pouch except thirty rials. Ibraheem said, ‘These thirty rials are what have been taken from me.’ The all became astonished and asked Ibraheem where he had brought this money from. He answered, ‘I was standing near the door of the car. When the highwayman took the money from the travelers and put it in his pocket, he became certain that he had succeeded. When he wanted to leave the car, I stole the pouch from his pocket. He got down without feeling anything. The car moved quickly to be far away from that place until we arrived here. This is your money which has been stolen from you.’
The caravanner went on his speech saying, ‘I cried loudly. Ibraheem said, ‘I brought your money back to you. Why are you crying now?’ I told him about what I have seen in my dream and said to him, ‘Now I understand why Imam ar-Redha (s) insisted on me to bring you with us. He wanted to save us from the danger by you.’ When Ibraheem heard this, his condition changed strongly and he burst into crying. He kept on that until we arrived at Holy Mashhad and the gold dome of the holy shrine appeared to us. There he said, ‘Tie my neck and hands with chains and pull me in this manner to the holy shrine.’ When we got down of the car, we carried out his saying and pulled him in this manner to the holy shrine. He was in a wonderful state of humbleness and submission during our movement to the holy shrine. He repented in a wonderful repentance. He threw the money of that unknown old woman in the holy shrine (as alms). He beseeched Imam ar-Redha (s) to intercede with Allah for him to forgive his sins. The travelers envied him his guidance and blessing. Our travel came to an end with the utmost happiness and delight and we all came back to Aromiya except that repentant one who remained to reside in the holy shrine.’
Repentance and beseeching
It has been narrated that once Imam as-Sadiq (s) was sitting in the temple of Abraham (s) in the Kaaba when an old man, who had spent his age in disobedience and sins, came. He looked at Imam as-Sadiq (s) and said, ‘The best intercessor with Allah for the sinful you are!’ He caught the curtain of the Kaaba and recited:
‘By the virtue of the grandfather[14] of this man,
By the virtue of al-Abtahiy al-Hashimiy,
By the virtue of the revelation that has been revealed to him,
By the virtue of his guardian, the great hero,[15]
By the virtue of the two pure sons of Ali,
And their mother, the daughter of the pure benevolent,
By the virtue of all the imams who have followed their grandfather’s way,
By the virtue of al-Qa’im al-Mehdi,
O my Lord, forgive me, the sinful slave of Yours!’
Then a voice was heard saying, ‘O old man, your sins were great but we have forgiven them all by the virtue of your intercessors. If you ask us to forgive the sins of all the people of the earth, We will do except for the killer of the she-camel (of Prophet Salih), the killers of the prophets and the killers of the infallible imams.’[16]
The drunkard and repentance
Al-Faydh al-Kashani, who is a spring of virtues, knowledge, insight and discernment, says in his valuable book al-Mahajja al-Baydha’, ‘Once a drunkard gathered some of his drinking companions and gave four dirhams to his servant and ordered him to buy some fruit for the meeting. The servant passed by the door of Mansoor bin Ammar while he was asking the people to help a poor man. He said, ‘Whoever gives him (the poor man) four dirhams I will pray four prayers for him.’ The servant gave the four dirhams to the poor man. Mansoor said to him, ‘What do you want me to pray for you?’ The servant said, ‘I want to be free from my master.’ Mansoor prayed for him with that and said to him, ‘What is the other?’ The servant said, ‘May Allah compensate me my dirhams.’ Mansoor prayed for him and said, ‘What is the other?’ He said, ‘May Allah accept the repentance of my master.’ Mansoor prayed for him and asked what the other prayer was. The servant said, ‘May Allah forgive me, my master, you and the people.’ Mansoor prayed for him and then the servant went back. His master asked him why he had been late and he told him of what had happened. His master asked him with what Mansoor had prayed for him. He said, ‘I asked for freedom to myself.’ His master said, ‘You are free since now. What is the second thing?’ The servant said, ‘I wanted that Allah may compensate me for the dirhams.’ His master said, ‘I give you four thousand dirhams. What is the third thing?’ The servant said, ‘That Allah may accept your repentance.’ The master said, ‘I repent and turn to Allah since now. What is the fourth?’ The servant said, ‘That Allah may forgive me, you, the people and Mansoor.’ The master said, ‘This fourth thing is not mine.’ When he went to bed that night, he saw in his sleep that as if a sayer said to him, ‘You have done your duty. Do you think that I do not do mine? I have forgiven you, your servant, Mansoor bin Ammar and all the present people.’[17]
Expensive weeping of the repentant
It has been narrated that at the time of one of the saints there was a young man who had spent his age in idleness, fancies and amusement without paying any attention to his afterlife. Therefore, he was far from pious and benevolent people and could not find a place among notable and charitable people. When he was about to die, he reviewed the list of his deeds and his past age and he did not find in the field of his deeds even one branch to cling to it and he did not find in the garden of his morals even one flower to smell from it the fragrance of good life. He wept from the depth of his heart and his tears fell down over his face. He prayed his Lord regretfully and sorrily to apologize of what he had committed, ‘O You, Who have the world and the afterworld, have mercy on the one who has neither the world nor the afterworld.’ After his death, the people of the village became delighted and they carried his corpse outside their village. They threw the corpse in a dunghill and poured earth on it. In that night the saint saw in his sleep that as if a sayer said to him, ‘Go to that place and wash the corpse, enshroud it and bury it beside the pious people.’ The saint said, ‘He was famous of debauchery. What has given him this rank near You so that he deserved Your pardon and forgiveness?’ He heard the answer, ‘He saw himself as destitute, he felt shy and cried so We had mercy on him. Is there anyone asking Us for rescue and We did not rescue him?! Is there a needy one, who cried asking Us to achieve his need, and We did not respond to him?!’[18]
Showing repentance and solving problems
Jabir al-Ju’fi, who is one of the reliable narrators to the Shia, has narrated that the Prophet (s) had said, ‘Once three persons set out wandering in the earth. While they were worshipping Allah in a cave at the top of a mountain, a big rock fell down and closed the opening of the cave. One said to another, ‘O men, by Allah, nothing will save you from this calamity unless you confess truthfully before Allah. Come on! Mention what you have done sincerely for the sake of Allah and mention your sins!’ One of them said, ‘O my Lord, You know that once I have admired a beautiful woman and I have paid too much money to get her. When I could get her and slept with her, I remembered the Hell and then I left her for fear of You. O Allah, save us from this rock!’ The rock cracked. The other one said, ‘O my Lord, You know that one day I have hired some men to plow the field for half a dirham to each of them. When they finished their work, I gave them their wages. One of them said, ‘I have done a work of two persons. By Allah I do not take less than one dirham.’ He left his wage with me. I sowed with that half of a dirham in my field. The field fruited too much. The man came and wanted his half a dirham. I paid him ten thousand dirhams. O Allah, if You know that I have done so just for fear of You, so save us from this rock!’ The rock was displaced a little and they looked at each other. The third one said, ‘O my Lord, You know that one day I have brought a vessel of milk to my mother and father but they were sleeping. I did not put the vessel aside for I feared that a vermin might spit out into it and I hated to wake them up in order not to disturb them. I remained standing with the vessel in my hands until they woke up and drank the milk. O my Lord, if You know that I have done this just for the sake of You, please save us from this rock!’ Then the rock was displaced and they could find their way out.’ Then the Prophet (s) said, ‘Whoever is truthful to Allah will be saved.’[19]
The wonderful morals and the more wonderful end
The translator of the great book “Tafseer al-Mizan” Professor Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Musawi al-Hamadani told me in Holy Qum on Friday 16 Shawwal, 1413 A.H. at nine o’clock in the morning that,
‘In Jundab in Hamadan (northwest Iran) there was a wicked man, who was drunkard, called Ali Jundabi.
Although this man was not aware or interested in the religious facts and he always associated with the dissolute and bad people, he had some good aspects inside him. One day while he was sitting in a café in a beautiful area outside the town and drinking tea with one of his friends, a beautiful woman with her graceful body, bright face and rural activeness drew his attention.
He often put on his head an expensive velvet cap. Suddenly he put off his cap and put it under his foot. His friend shouted at him, ‘What do you do to your cap?’ He said, ‘Be calm and patient for a little!’ After some minutes, he bent, picked his cap from the ground and put it on his head and then he said to his friend, ‘This was a beautiful married woman. If she saw me with this cap and smartness, she might think that I was more handsome than her husband and then her relation with her husband might weaken for that; therefore I did not want to appear before her with this beautiful cap so that her intimate relation with her husband not to change into cool relation.’
In Hamadan there was a famous preacher called Sheikh Hasan who was used to make “ta’ziya”[20] during the days of Aashura. He was religious, pious and respected by his people.
Sheikh Hasan said, ‘In the afternoon of one of the days of Aashura’ I went to Hasar, outside the city of Hamadan, to perform ta’ziya there. I was late a little there and when I went back, I found the gates of the city closed. I knocked at the gate and I heard the voice of Ali al-Jundabi, who was drunk and had lost his mind, shouting, ‘Who are you?’ I said, ‘I am Sheikh Hasan the reciter of ta’ziya.’ He opened the gate and shouted at me, ‘Where have you been till now?’ I said, ‘I went to the village of Hasar to recite ta’ziya and to mention the disaster of the master of the martyrs (Imam Husayn) (s).’ He said to me, ‘Recite ta’ziya to me too!’ I said, ‘Ta’ziya required listeners and a minbar.’ He said, ‘There is everything here.’ Then he bowed and said to me, ‘Ascend my back. It is the minbar and I am the listener and recite to me the calamity of al- Abbas[21] (the moon (light) of the Hashemites)!’
I was afraid of him and I was obliged to do what he wanted. I ascended his back and recited ta’ziya. He cried too much and I was affected unusually that I have never been affected in such away throughout my life. When I finished reciting ta’ziya, this drunkard got up and a wonderful change happened inside him.
After sometime and by the blessing of beseeching Ahlul Bayt (s) he traveled to visit the sacred places in Iraq. He visited the holy shrines of Ahlul Bayt (s) and then he resided in Najaf.
At that time, the religious authority of the Shia was al-Mirza ash-Shirazi, who had announced his famous fatwa on prohibiting tobacco. He lived in Najaf. Ali al-Jundabi did not part with him in offering congregational prayers at all. Ali’s place in the congregational prayers was known and he kept on attending these prayers for a long time.
In one night between the prayers of Maghrib and Isha’[22] Mirza ash-Shirazi was informed that one of the famous ulama had left to the other world and he had said in his will that he wanted to be buried in the corridor that was connected with the holy shrine (of Imam Ali); therefore a tomb was dug there. After finishing Isha’ prayer it was said to Mirza ash-Shirazi that that scholar had been struck with apoplexy and then he recovered his consciousness. But suddenly they found Ali al-Jundabi dead on his prayer rug in the same place where he offered the congregational prayer behind al-Mirza. Al-Mirza ordered to carry Ali al-Jundabi and bury him in that tomb which had been dug near the holy shrine.
Repentance of the gravedigger
It has been narrated that one day Ma’ath bin Jabal had come to the Prophet (s) crying. He greeted the Prophet (s) and the Prophet (s) replied to his greeting. Then the Prophet (s) asked him why he had been crying and he said, ‘O messenger of Allah, at the door there is a young man with a soft body, bright color and beautiful face. He cries for his youth as a woman bereaved of her child. He wants to meet you.’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘O Ma’ath, let him come to me.’ The young man came in, greeted the Prophet (s) and the Prophet (s) replied to his greeting. Then the Prophet (s) asked him why he had been crying and he said, ‘How do I not cry while I have committed sins that if Allah punishes me for some of them, He will throw me into the Hell? I think that Allah will punish me for them and He will not forgive me at all.’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘Have you associated with Allah anything else?’ He said, ‘I seek the protection of Allah from associating anything with my Lord!’ The Prophet (s) asked him, ‘Have you killed an innocent one?’ He said, ‘No!’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘Allah will forgive you even if your sins are like the mountains.’ The young man said, ‘My sins are greater than the mountains.’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘Allah will forgive you even if your sins are as much as the seven earths with their seas, sands, trees and creatures.’ He said, ‘My sins are greater than the seven earths and their seas, sands, trees and creatures.’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘Allah will forgive you even if your sins are like the heavens and their stars and like the Throne.’ The young man said, ‘They are greater than that.’ The Prophet (s) looked at him angrily and said, ‘Woe unto you! Are your sins greater or your Lord?’ The young man fell down to the ground saying, ‘Glory be to my Lord! There is nothing greater than my Lord. O messenger of Allah, my Lord is greater than every great thing.’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘Is there anyone that forgives the great sin except the great Lord?!’ The young man said, ‘O messenger of Allah, no, by Allah there is not.’ Then the young man kept quiet. The Prophet (s) asked him, ‘O young man, would you tell me about one of your sins?’ He said, ‘Yes, I would. I have been digging graves for seven years. I took the dead out of their graves and took off their shrouds. One day a bondmaid from al-Ansar died. When she was buried and her family left and the dark night came, I came to her grave. I dug out the grave and took her out. I took off her shroud and left her naked at the edge of her grave. When I left, the Satan began inciting me and saying, ‘Do you not see her abdomen and white? Do you not see her thighs?’ He still said to me so until I came back to her. I could not control myself until I made love with her and left her in her place. I heard a voice behind me saying, ‘O young man, woe unto you from the Lord of the Day of Punishment where He will stop me with you as you have left me naked among the dead, taken me out of my grave, extorted my shrouds and left me impure until the Day of Punishment! Woe unto your youth from the Hell!’ I do not think that I will smell the fragrance of Paradise forever!’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘O dissolute! Be away from me! I fear of being burnt in your fire. How near to Fire you are!’ The Prophet (s) kept on saying that until the young man was taken away from the Prophet (s).
The young man went to Medina to supply himself with provisions and then he went to the mountains to worship Allah there. He put on a coarse garment, tied his hands to his neck and called, ‘O my Lord! This is your slave Bahlool tied before You. O my Lord, You are the One Who knows me well. I have slipped as You know. O my Lord! I have repented and come to Your prophet but he drove me away and made me fear more. O my Lord, I pray You with Your name, glory and great sovereignty not to disappoint my hope! O my Lord! Do not annul my prayer and do not despair me of Your mercy!’
He kept on that for forty days and nights. The beasts cried with him. When he spent forty days and nights, he raised his hands towards the heaven and said, ‘O my Lord! What do You do to my need? If You have responded to my prayer, forgiven my sin and decided to punish me, then hasten to burn me with fire or with a punishment that perishes me in this world or You save me from the scandal on the Day of Resurrection!’
Then Allah revealed to the Prophet (s), “And those who when they commit an indecency,” (Qur'an, 3:135) it means adultery (or do injustice to their souls) by committing a sin greater than adultery like digging the graves and extorting the shrouds of the dead “remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their faults” fear Allah and hasten to repent “and who forgives the faults but Allah,” Allah says, ‘O Muhammad, my slave has come to you repenting but you rejected him. Where and to whom does he go? Whom does he ask to forgive his sins except Me?’ Then Allah said, “and (who) do not knowingly persist in what they have done” do not keep on committing adultery, digging the graves and taking the shrouds of the buried dead:
“(As for) these, their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and excellent is the reward of the laborers.” Qur'an, 3:136
When this verse was revealed to the Prophet (s), he went out reciting it and smiling. He said to his companions, ‘Who can show me the way to that repentant young man?’ Ma’ath showed the Prophet (s) the way. The Prophet (s) with his companions went there. When they arrived at that mountain, they went up looking for the young man. They found him between two rocks offering prayer. His hands were tied to his neck, his face was blackened and the edges of his eyelids were too harmed because of crying. He was praying Allah and saying, ‘O my Master, You have created me so well and have made me beautiful. I wish I knew what You will do to me! Will You burn me in Fire or You will make me reside beside You? O Allah, You have bestowed upon me too many blessings. I wish I knew what my end will be! Will You hurry me to Paradise or You will drive me to the Hell? O my Lord, my sin is greater than the heavens and the earth and than Your great Throne! I wish I knew whether You forgive my sin or expose me with it on the Day of Resurrection!’ He still said that, cried and poured earth over his head while the beasts had gathered around him and the birds above him crying with his crying. The Prophet (s) came near to him, untied his hands from his neck, wiped the dust from his head and said to him, ‘O Bahlool, be delighted! Allah has freed you from the Hell.’ Then the Prophet (s) said to his companions, ‘Avoid sins in this way as Bahlool has done!’ Then the Prophet (s) recited to Bahlool what Allah had revealed concerning him (Bahlool) and brought him the good news of being in Paradise.’[23]
The repentance of Fudhayl al-Ayyadh
At the beginning Fudhayl was one of the highwaymen. He was the head of a gang of thieves who attacked the trading caravans and robbed their monies. But, nevertheless, Fudhayl had magnanimity and high determination. He did not rob the baggage of women. He did not rob the monies of poor and weak people in the caravans. And even the persons whom he took their monies he left some money with them so that they could reach their countries. He was not proud before anyone of people. He gave up neither prayers nor fasting. As for the reason of his repentance it has been said,
‘He loved a woman but he did not succeed to marry her. Sometimes he went near the house of that woman. He became exited and began crying because of his love to her. One night a caravan passed by that place. Among the people of the caravan there was a man reciting the Qur'an. Fudhayl heard him reciting this verse:
“Has not the time yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah.” Qur'an, 57:16
When Fudhayl heard this verse, he came down from above the wall and said, ‘O my Lord, Yes, it has come, it has com…’ He walked crying, regretting, being confused and unknowing where to go. He reached some ruins in which there were some people of one of the caravans. He heard them saying, ‘Let us go from here. It is the time of leaving.’ One of them said, ‘No, it is not the time of leaving. Fudhayl is in the road and he will attack the caravan and rob all what we have.’ Then Fudhayl cried, ‘O people of the caravan, it is the good news! This dangerous thief and polluted robber has repented.’
After his repentance Fudhayl went every day looking for the people whom he had robbed their monies and he begged them to pardon and forgive him.[24]
Later on he became one of the real instructors and he worked in educating the people. He had left wise maxims.
Three repentant Muslims
In the battle of Tabook some people did not join the Prophet (s); some of the hypocrites and some of the faithful men among whom were Ka’b bin Malik the poet, Marara bin ar-Rabee’ and Hilal bin Umayya al-Waqifi.
Ka’b said, ‘I have never been stronger than I was at that time when the Prophet (s) went to fight (in the battle of Tabook) and I did never have two sumpters together except on that day. I said to myself: I will go to the battle tomorrow…I will go after tomorrow…” I was strong but I slackened. After the going of the Prophet (s) (and his army) I remained (in Medina) several days. Every day I went to the market but without having anything to do. I met Hilal bin Umayya and Marara bin ar-Rabee’ who both had not joined the Prophet (s) too. We agreed on that we would come early to the market but without having any business. We always said that we would go (to join the Prophet (s)) the following day…and the day after it until we were told that the Prophet (s) would come back. We felt very sorry. When the Prophet (s) came, we received him to congratulate him for safety. We greeted him but he did not reply to our greeting and he turned away from us. We greeted our brothers (the Muslims) and they also did not reply to our greetings. Our families knew about that and they turned away from us. When we went to the mosque, no one greeted us or talked with us. Our wives went to the Prophet (s) and said to him, ‘We have known that you are angry with our husbands. Do we separate from them?’ the Prophet (s) said, ‘Do not separate from them but do not let them sleep with you.’
When Ka’b and his two friends saw what happened to them, he said, ‘What makes us remain here in Medina while the messenger of Allah (s), our brothers and our families do not talk with us? Come on! Let us go to the mountain and remain there until Allah accepts our repentance or we die there.’ They went to a mountain near Medina. They fasted. Their families brought them food, put it aside and left without talking with them. They remained such for many days crying day and night and praying Allah to forgive them. When it was too long, Ka’b said to his friends, ‘Allah has been angry with us, the messenger of Allah has been angry with us, our brothers have been angry with us and our families have been angry with us. No one talks with us. Why do we not be angry with each other?’ They separated in the night and took oaths that no one of them should talk with the other until Allah would accept their repentances. They remained so for three days. Each one of them was in a certain side of the mountain without seeing or talking with the others. In the third night while the Prophet (s) was in the house of Umm Salama (his wife), this verse, which announced the acceptance of the repentances of those three men, had been revealed to him,
“And to the three who were left behind, until the earth became strait to them notwithstanding its spaciousness and their souls were also straitened to them; and they knew it for certain that there was no refuge from Allah but in Him; then He turned to them (mercifully) that they might turn (to Him); surely Allah is the Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.” Qur'an, 9:118
Allah accepted their repentance when He knew the sincerity of their intentions.[25]
Repentance of al-Hurr bin Yazeed ar-Riyahi
At first al-Hurr bin Yazeed ar-Riyahi was not with Imam Husayn (s) but then he became one of his most sincere companions and supporters. Al-Hurr was a magnanimous man and the chief of the tribe of bani Riyah. He did not believe in the weak saying “an ordered one is excused”; therefore he disobeyed the order of the emir ibn Ziyad[26] and joined Imam Husayn bin Ali (s) and he fought against the unjust army bravely and determinedly until he was martyred.
Al-Hurr was one of the chiefs of Kufa (in Iraq) and of the notable leaders of the Umayyad army. His family was one of the noble Arab families. Therefore ibn Ziyad, the wali of Kufa, made use of this rank of al-Hurr and appointed him as the leader and emir of an army of one thousand knights and sent him to capture Imam Husayn (s) and bring him to Kufa.
It has been mentioned that when al-Hurr had taken the book (the order) of ibn Ziyad and gone out of the palace of ibn Ziyad, he heard a voice calling out, ‘Be delighted to be in Paradise O Hurr!’ He turned and he did not see anyone. He said to himself, ‘What is this good news?! I am going to fight al-Husayn and I am brought good news of being in Paradise!’
Thus, al-Hurr was a man moving from the direction of intellect and he did not look at the matter from its worldly side. He did not follow the order of ibn Ziyad blindly and he was not among those who bought with their faith worldly ranks and positions. He was unlike many of people who whenever their ranks went higher their feet sank more into the sands of the untruth and followed their tendencies and followed the surrounding influences without distinguishing the right from the wrong and the truth from the untruth. He was not like those who considered good whatever their leader considered good and bad whatever their leader considered bad. Those people thought that a leader did not commit anything wrong at all. They thought that every opinion the leader had must be right. But al-Hurr was not of this kind. He thought before he obeyed. His obedience was not blind roving in vacuum and darkness.
Al-Hurr set out from Kufa in the morning at the head of one thousand knights towards the desert to meet Imam Husayn (s). When it was noon, the caravan of Imam Husayn (s) appeared to them from far but thirst had struck al-Hurr, his men and their horses then. There was no water in that land and Imam Husayn (s) could do with his enemies by the weapon of thirst and so he would gain an important victory without using the sword or shedding blood. But he did not do that. Rather he faced the enmity with love and said to his companions, ‘Al-Hurr is thirsty, give him water! His men are thirsty, give them water and their horses are also thirsty, water them!’ His companions obeyed him and al-Hurr, his men and their horses quenched their thirst. Al-Husayn (s) had expected that he would face such a situation and so he had taken with him much water. Then Imam Husayn (s) said to the caller (of Azan), ‘Call out for the prayer!’ Imam Husayn (s) said to al-Hurr, ‘Would you lead your companions in offering the prayer?’ Al-Hurr said, ‘No, but I offer the prayer behind you.’ This exalted morals and high politeness of one of the leaders of the enemy army showed the strong determination and high personality of this man. In this way al-Hurr resisted his tendencies and high standing and became humble before Imam Husayn (s) and offered the prayer behind him with one thousand of his knights.
This high politeness was a flash of success and the first step for guidance in the end. He could control his tendent soul and this gave him strength and determination to an extent that at the critic moment and in front of thirty thousand warriors of the people of Kufa he felt strong and determined that he refused to obey the order of the Umayyad leadership and controlled the deviate motives that took him towards the untruth.
As if he felt that there were two comparable powers inside him; one was the power of politeness and the other was the power of understanding and feeling. Each one of these two powers pulled him towards Allah the Almighty and by the two powers together, he got great might and a defeating power.
Al-Hurr’s prayer behind Imam Husayn (s) was the first glimpse of faith he felt inside him and practiced in his conscience. That prayer was as the first objection and indifference to the orders of the Umayyad government by al-Hurr bin Yazeed ar-Riyahi.
The army of Kufa offered the prayer behind Imam Husayn (s) too. This prayer was a sign of being Muslims and obeying the Prophet (s).
The people of Kufa offered prayers because they were Muslims and followers of the prophet of Islam but nevertheless they failed the son and guardian of the Prophet (s) and left him aidless and then killed him. Is there such a contradiction among the other nations and peoples?
After Asr[27] prayer Imam Husayn (s) made a speech before the all. He said,
‘O people, if you fear Allah and give the right to its people, Allah will be more pleased with you. We are the progeny of Muhammad (s) and we are worthier of this matter (the caliphate) over you than those who claim what they have no right of and who rule over you with injustice and aggression. If you refuse but to bear a grudge against us and to ignore our right and if your opinion now is other than what your books and messengers have had when they have come to me, I will leave you alone and go back.’ Al-Hurr said, ‘By Allah I do not know what books and messengers you talk about!’ Imam Husayn (s) said to one of his companions, ‘O Aqaba bin Sam’an, take out the two saddlebags which have the books (of the people of Kufa) sent to me!’ Aqaba took out two saddlebags full of books and he spread them before al-Hurr. Al-Hurr said, ‘We are not among those who have written books to you. We are ordered if we meet, we should not leave you until we take you to Kufa to Ubaydillah bin Ziyad.’ Imam Husayn (s) said to him, ‘(Our) death is nearer to you than this matter.’ Then he said to his companions, ‘Get up and ride your sumpters.’ They rode and waited until their women rode. Imam Husayn (s) said to them, ‘Leave!’ When they tried to leave, the army of Kufa prevented them from leaving. Imam Husayn (s) said to al-Hurr, ‘May your mother lose you, what do you want?’ Al-Hurr said, ‘If any one of the Arabs other than you said it to me, I would not refrain from defaming his mother whoever he was but, by Allah, I cannot mention your mother except with the best of attributes as possible as I can.’ Imam Husayn (s) said to him, ‘Then what do you want?’ Al-Hurr said, ‘I want to take you to the emir Ubaydillah.’ Imam Husayn (s) said, ‘By Allah, I will never follow you.’ Al-Hurr said, ‘By Allah, I will never let you alone…’[28]
Then some men of Kufa joined Imam Husayn (s). Al-Hurr wanted to imprison them. Imam Husayn (s) refused and said, ‘I will protect them from whatever I protect myself.’ Then al-Hurr left them alone.[29]
They moved until they arrived at Kerbala where Umar bin Sa’d was the leader of the army. When Umar bin Sa’d got ready to fight, al-Hurr came to him and said, ‘May Allah right you! Will you fight this man (Imam Husayn)?’ Umar said, ‘Yes, by Allah, a fight in which heads should fall and hands should scatter.’ Al-Hurr said to him, ‘Will you not be satisfied with one of the conditions he has offered?’ Umar bin Sa’d said, ‘By Allah, if it was up to me, I would but your emir (bin Ziyad) has refused that.’
Then al-Hurr came, with a man from his people called Qurra bin Qays, and stopped aside. He said, ‘O Qurrah, have you watered your horse today?’ Qurra said (to himself), ‘By Allah I thought that he wanted to withdraw so that he would not attend the fight and he did not want me to see him do that. I said to him, ‘No, I have not. I will go to water it now.’
Al-Hurr began to go nearer little by little towards Imam Husayn (s). A man from his people called Muhajir bin Owss said to him, ‘O ibn Yazeed, what do you want to do? Do you want to attack?’ He kept silent and he began shivering. The man said to him, ‘O ibn Yazeed, by Allah your state is suspicious! By Allah, I have not seen you in such a state at all. If it is said to me “who is the bravest one in Kufa” I will not mention anyone but you. What is the matter with you?’ Al-Hurr said, ‘I am choosing between Paradise and Hell. By Allah, I will never prefer anything to Paradise even if I am cut to pieces and then burnt.’ Then he beat his horse and hastened to join Imam Husayn (s).
Al-Hurr had believed in Paradise, Hell and the Day of Resurrection and thus was the result of believing in the Day of Resurrection.
Men of understanding know well that at the time of crisis some moments may come to man that form in his heart a hundred meetings of consultation and speechers and preachers stand in every side of the heart instead of the different tendencies mentioning their opinion on the matter. Then man is in need of an ultimate power to give a final decision and then to take him out of the circle of pondering and thinking into the field of execution and this power is not found except in the heroes and liberal people who carry out the requirements of faith with wisdom and prudence and omit the obstacles due to their faith in their mission.
Abraham (s), the destroyer of the idols, was the only man who had faced his enemies alone and after achieving his aim (destroying the idols), his enemies knew his intention.
Thus was al-Hurr! He saw the both sides and the both ways clearly and so he had nothing but to set about. This situation was in need of determination to set about and al-Hurr had had determination and power. He flew with the wings of determination and power towards Imam Husayn (s) and escaped from his hunters.
When he became away from the influence of his enemies and the influence of this worldly life and turned away from the pleasures of ranks, leadership, worldly honor and the likes and nothing remained except his rescue from plagues, he remembered that whoever followed the path of Allah and the path of jihad would not be afflicted with plagues even if he died on the way and before reaching the destination because the Divine mercy would receive him and rescue him from death. Allah the Almighty rescues His beloved people from death and death does not take them from Allah the Almighty. Everyone chooses Allah, Allah will choose him and he will be among the dwellers of the gardens of bliss.
Anyhow this liberal man could pass three difficult stages;
- Coming out of the influence of the enemy and its army
- Coming out of the influences of the worldly life
- Coming out of the circle of plagues
The love of the truth became firm inside him and if they had cut him into pieces, they would have not been able to shake his firm faith or to turn him away from Paradise which he had aimed at. Therefore, he said in his reply to al-Muhajir bin Owss, ‘I am choosing between Paradise and Hell…’ and he took an oath, ‘By Allah, I will never prefer anything to Paradise even if I am cut into pieces and then burnt.’
He beat his horse and hastened towards Imam Husayn (s). When he became near the camp of Imam Husayn (s), he turned over his armor. The companions of Imam Husayn (s) said, ‘This knight, whoever he is, has come for safeguard.’
Ibn Tawooss, the historian, says, ‘…then he beat his horse and hastened towards al-Husayn (s) putting his hand on his head and saying, ‘O Allah, I have turned to you. Turn to me for I have frightened the hearts of Your guardians and the children of Your prophet!’[30]
At-Tabari says, ‘…he joined al-Husayn (s) and said to him, ‘May I die for you O son of the messenger of Allah! I am the one who has prevented you from going back and kept step with you along the way and clamored against you in this place. I swear by Allah Who there is no god but Him, that I did not think that the people (Yazeed, ibn Ziyad and their followers) would refuse what you had offered to them at all and they would dare to fight you. I said to myself: I do not care to obey some of their orders so that they will not think that I disobey them and they will accept from Husayn the conditions he has offered to them. By Allah, if I thought that they would not accept them from you, I would not do to you what I have done. Now I have come to you turning to Allah and repenting of what I have done and comforting you with myself until I die before you. Do you think that my repentance will be accepted?’
Imam Husayn (s) said, ‘Yes, Allah accepts your repentance and forgive you. What is your name?’
He said, ‘I am al-Hurr bin Yazeed.’
Imam Husayn (s) said, ‘You are (hurr) free[31] as your mother has named you. You are free inshallah in this world and in the afterworld. Get down!’[32]
Repentance of two brothers at the last hours of Ashura
Repentance in Islam is returning the high standing to a sinful one near Allah when repenting. Returning this high standing is achieved when a sinful person himself repents with sincere intention and the others have nothing to do in this concern. This way is always open before the sinful because the Divine religion is the religion of hope, the source of love and the spring of mercy. Imam Husayn (s) was the mirror of the wide mercy of Allah, mercy on people, mercy to lovers and mercy to enemies. The very existence of Imam Husayn (s) flowed with love; his speech was full of love and his conduct was full of love. Since he had faced his enemies, the army of Yazeed, on his way, he tried to guide them and bring them to the straight path of Allah. He did everything he could to guide and reform them.
He tried that before the war and during the war too by saying and doing. He could save those, who were ready to be guided, from Hell and made them among the people of Paradise. The last call of Imam Husayn (s) to guide those who were ready to be guided was when he became alone with no supporter when all his supporters had been martyred. He said,
‘Is there any one to support us…is there anyone to protect the women of the messenger of Allah?’
This call was heard by Sa’d bin Harth al-Ansari and his brother Abul Hutoof bin Harth. They waked up from their inadvertence. These two brothers were from al-Ansar and from the tribe of al-Khazraj but they had no good relation with Ahlul Bayt (s). In fact they were among the enemies of Imam Ali (s) and from the Kharijites of al-Nahrawan whose motto was “judgment is only to Allah” and a sinful had no right of the rule and government. Was Imam Husayn (s) sinful and Yazeed was not?!!
These two brothers left Kufa under the leadership of Umar bin Sa’d in order to fight Imam Husayn (s) and kill him. They arrived at Kerbala. When the day of Ashura came, they were with the army of Yazeed. The war broke out and bloods were shed and they were still with the army of Yazeed. When Imam Husayn (s) remained alone and aidless, they were still with the army of Yazeed. But when Imam Husayn (s) called out this call, they waked up and said to themselves: “Al-Husayn is the son of the messenger of Allah and we look forward to the intercession of his grandfather on the Day of Resurrection.” They left the army of Yazeed and joined Imam Husayn (s). They defended Imam Husayn (s) and fought against the army of Kufa bravely. They killed several enemy warriors and they were wounded with many wounds until they were martyred.[33]
Allama Kamraei in his book “the element of courage”[34] says, ‘When the women and children heard the voice of al-Husayn calling for help: “Is there any supporter to support us” they began crying and weeping loudly. When Sa’d and his brother heard this painful call and the crying of the women and children of Ahlul Bayt (s), they turned their horses and hastened towards al-Husayn (s). Then they came to the field of fighting and attacked the enemy army. They fought near Imam Husayn (s) and killed some enemy warriors. They were wounded with many wounds and were martyred in the same place.’
Every one should hear the wonderful story of these two brothers which arouse in the soul expectation and hope of unexpected successes as it has been with the prophets.
Because of the speciality of the light of hope, every prophet has got some certain qualities that has connected him with the unseen and breathed in him a new spirit that he has not been desperate until the last breath. They did not consider the mere approaching a sin as a sin and disobedience and they did not consider such a person as a sinful or criminal unless he committed that sin. They hoped that the Divine mercy would appear on everyone to save him from keeping on sins because the Divine mercy is hidden from the all.
Prophet Ya’qoob (Jacob) (s) had suffered a bitter separation for many years until his eyes became white because of sorrow. He did not find his son Yousuf (Joseph) nor did he get any news about him. In fact the news came opposite to what he wished but he faced that news with quietness and patience and at the same time he hoped his son to be live. He expected his coming back and he always prayed Allah for that.
The spiritual change happened to these two brothers was a response to the call of Imam Husayn (s) who hoped to guide those people even at the last moment of his honorable life. And at last it became clear that the light of guidance, which was hidden from people, could penetrate deeply into the enemy army while their swords were still dripping with the innocent bloods.
This change of these two brothers was one of the rarest things in the world of existence on the one hand and on the other hand it was Imam Husayn’s high spirit of hoping which made that wonderful change after the enemies had tighten their control for twenty years and after deviation, injustice and oppression had ruled during all that period. But at last the light of guidance appeared as Joseph (s) had appeared from behind the unseen.
There is a wonderful secret that Allah has confided to the human soul and made it hidden from people. It is this very unknown secret that arouses hope in the preachers and people of the truth and says to them: do not despair of having an influence on people because the secret of guidance hidden inside the souls of people is something hidden from all the preachers and reformers for in every moment it is possible that a change in the selves may take place and from behind the unseen a ray from the light of guidance may appear.
“O my Lord, the changing of Your arrangements and the promptness of Your accountings have prevented those, who know You, from trusting in a gift (to be continuous) or feeling safe from misfortunes (to afflict them at any time).”[35]
The body is a shadow for the soul and a screen hiding the intellect and the intellect in its turn is a screen on the power of mind in man. This power of mind is also a screen on the soul that it covers and hides it. And the most hidden thing is the secret hidden inside man which lies behind one’s motives and tendencies. No any scientific power could reach that site or discover that secret place. All the secret powers are uncovered by one of the powers available in man. The first secret power is intuition and intelligence. Intelligent people can read the intellect and know what ideas there are in the minds of the others according to their deportments, dialects, handwritings and miens.
The hidden mind is uncovered by the power of faith with the light of physiognomy which is higher than the first uncovering power. As for the hidden soul it can be uncovered by the light of prophethood which is higher and more powerful than all the uncovering powers but no one is able to discover the secret of the soul and to know what happens in this secret place. There is a special divine ray connected with the Sacred Existence (Allah) and hidden by the “Position of Pride” and there is no means between the mercy of Allah and His people. Every human being has a special connection with his Creator and this connection is uncovered to anyone so that preaching should be required continuously and reformers and preachers remain expecting the continuous influence of their speeches and preaches on the other side.
Saints and guiding people live with continuous hope and expectation renewing one time after another. Their care leads them to guide people and show them the right path. Therefore, the reasons of the spiritual change are hidden to people and thus the high position of knowing Allah is related to the state of depending (on Allah), hoping and expecting. Whenever knowing Allah is deeper inside man’s heart, the spirit of hoping becomes stronger and firmer in him and whenever the spirit of hoping is strong, one becomes more knowing of the secrets of the existence and expects new and delightful news day after another.
The higher souls are those which delve more into the secrets of the existence and discover them little by little and get out of it new news.
Now the Muslim preachers should not be deprived of the spirit of hoping and the difficulties and distresses should not make them despair because the circumstances of this age are not more difficult than those of the first age of the mission.
It is said that Sheikh Muhammad Abdu[36] has said in one of his meetings, ‘I feel desperate of reforming the state of the Islamic nation.’ A foreigner woman, who was present there, said to him, ‘I wonder at hearing this inauspicious word of “despair” from the mouth of one like this sheikh!’ Sheikh Muhammad Abdu felt his mistake immediately and acknowledged the right saying of that woman.
Imam Husayn (s) had the spirit of hoping more than all the other guiding people and all the prophets except his grandfather Prophet Muhammad (s). He was like a falcon that flew to the highest tops and highest places to discover the most distant secrets of the existence. We have to listen to the call of hoping from the tongue of Imam Husayn (s) to get the spirit of hoping which refreshes our souls.
Let the selves be sacrificed for you O Husayn! It is you whom we ask for help in every distress! It is you who teach us the criterion of truthfulness and the invitation to the truth so that we need neither the sheikh of Egypt nor the chief of Egypt! It is you who teach people lessons of sacrifice and redemption! All the others have learnt from you and we have to learn from you the secrets of monotheism and Divine knowledge. Your high soul has reached a rank that no one has reached even the prophets! In your courtyard we smell the fragrance of the hope of goodness and the light of guidance even if the swords eat from our fleshes and drink from our bloods!
Your great intrepidity at those dark ages and in those dreary lands and your coming to Kufa in that way and your great hope appearing in your words…are brimful springs from which we water our thirsty souls with hope and expectation. You have said,
‘The command comes down from the Heaven. Every day He is in (some fresh) business! If the fate has come, so praise be to Allah and if the fate prevents hope…’
‘O my Lord, the changing of Your arrangements and the promptness of Your accountings have prevented those, who know You, from trusting in a gift (to be continuous) or feeling safe from misfortunes.’
And at last you closed your eyes away from this world hoping that those of the longing hearts when passing by your tomb might wake up and the breeze of life might blow over them and enliven their hearts to set about preaching and carrying out their duty to guide the people[37] and by that they might be able to attract the sinful and disobedient people to the field of repentance and turning and lead those who have deserved the torment of Hell to the bliss of Paradise.
Repentance of Yousuf’s brothers
When Yousuf’s (Prophet Joseph’s) brothers had traveled their third travel to Yousuf (s), they said to him, ‘O chief, the aridness has afflicted us and reigned in our lands. We have been in straits. We have become unable to arrange the affairs of our livings. We have brought scanty money to buy some wheat and you are more generous than to give us (wheat) as much as our scanty money. Give us full measure and be charitable to us; surely Allah rewards the charitable.’
When Yousuf (s) heard their speech, he became upset and knew that his brothers and family were weak and distressed. He said to them something they did not expect at all. He asked them first,
(Do you know how you treated Yousuf and his brother when you were ignorant?” Qur'an, 12:89
His brothers became astonished at this question and they wondered how the ruler of Egypt had known this matter, wherefrom he had known Yousuf and his fate and how he had known that they had a brother whereas their behavior did not show anything of that and no one knew their doing to Yousuf except them only!
They were confused to reply and were pondering for sometime. The memories of the previous travels crowded in their minds and they remembered the sayings of the chief of Egypt before and his saying now and they immediately said,
“Are you indeed Yousuf?” Qur'an, 12:90
The chief of Egypt answered them,
“I am Yousuf and this is my brother; Allah has indeed been gracious to us; surely he who guards (against evil) and is patient (is rewarded) for surely Allah does not waste the reward of those who do good.” Qur'an, 12:90
Fright overcame the brothers and they expected that Yousuf (s) would revenge himself on them severely. Yousuf (s) was so powerful in Egypt in opposite to the weakness of his brothers away from their country. His powerfulness and their weakness were incomparable with each other and the result was clear to the brothers.
The brothers, according to the religion of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) (s), had deserved to be punished and according to the sentimental account they were to be revenged on. As if the sky had fallen over them; they became so upset and frightened. Fright had extorted from them every power. They had nothing to do save to announce their last defense, save to acknowledge their sin and to ask for pardon and forgiveness. They said to him,
“By Allah! now has Allah certainly preferred you over us, and we were certainly sinners.” Qur'an, 12:91
They sat waiting for the reply to hear what Yousuf (s) would say or do to them. They heard from Yousuf (s) what they had not expected at all. He said to them,
“(There shall be) no reproof against you this day; Allah may forgive you, and He is the most Merciful of the merciful.” Qur'an, 12:92
Thus are the people of Allah! They have the spirit of pardoning and forgiving. They do not think of revenge. They do not bear grudge against anyone. They ask Allah to have mercy even on the enemies of Allah. Their hearts are full of love to the people of Allah.
Yousuf (s) said to his brothers after he had assured them not to be punished or revenged, ‘Get up now and go back to your country. Take this shirt of mine with you and cast it on your father’s face so that he will recover his eyesight. Then you all come with him to live near me here in Egypt.’
This was the second time when they went to their father with the shirt of Yousuf (s). In the first time, the shirt was an evil portent and a black sign involving death and separation. It was a disastrous letter to the father Jacob (s). But in this time the shirt had the sign of life, hope and meeting after separation. It had a letter of happiness and delight for the father Ya’coob (Jacob).
The shirt of Yousuf (s), before, caused Ya’coob (s) to lose his eyesight and caused Yousuf (s) to be slave after been taken out of the well but in this time the shirt caused the father to recover his eyesight and to be happy and delighted.
That shirt had false blood but this shirt had a true miracle. What difference between truthfulness and falseness there is!
For the third time the caravan of the brothers set out from Egypt towards the land of Kan’an (Sham)[38] but the hope reached the father Ya’qoob faster than the caravan. Ya’qoob (s) said to the present ones of his family,
“I do indeed scent the breath of Yousuf: Nay, think me not a dotard.” Qur'an, 12:94
The present ones mocked at him and said,
“By Allah! truly you are in your old wandering mind.” Qur'an, 12:95
This knowing old man did not answer them because he knew that the intellectual level of his addressees was not able to perceive the facts.
Before no long the signs of the truthfulness of this old man appeared and the caravan arrived with the good news of finding Yousuf (s). They cast Yousuf’s shirt on the face of the father and he recovered his eyesight. Then he turned to his children and said,
“Did I not say to you that I know from Allah what you do not know?” Qur'an, 12:96
The children of Ya’qoob asked their father to pardon them and to forgive them and they asked him to pray Allah to forgive their sins. Ya’qoob pardoned his sons and promised them to pray Allah for them.
The sons of Prophet Ya’qoob (s) acknowledged their sins and repented of them and turned to Allah. They apologized to their brother and father. Yousuf (s) pardoned them and so did his father Ya’qoob (s) and they both prayed Allah to forgive them and to have mercy on them.
Repentance of the island dweller
It is related that Imam Zaynol Aabideen (s) has said, ‘Once a man has traveled with his family by sea. The ship was broken and no one escaped death except the man’s wife who floated on a piece of wood until she reached an island in the sea. In the island, there was a bandit who had not left a sin unless he committed it. In a moment, he saw a woman in front of him. He raised his head and said to her, ‘Are you a human being or a jinnee?’ She said, ‘I am a human being.’ He did not talk to her any word more. He tried to make love with her. She became very upset and frightened. He asked her, ‘Why are you upset?’ She said, ‘I am afraid of this’ and she pointed at the Heaven. He said to her, ‘Have you committed something like this before?’ She said, ‘No, by His glory.’ He said, ‘You fear Him so much while you have not committed such a sin. I have forced you to do it. By Allah, it is me who should fear so much.’ He left her without committing anything and went back to his family thinking of nothing except repentance and turning to Allah. While he was walking, he met a monk in his way. The sun became hot. The monk said to him, ‘Pray Allah to shade us with a cloud! The sun has become hot.’ The young man said, ‘I do not think that I have had a good deed near my Lord. I do not dare to ask Him for anything.’ The monk said, ‘I pray Allah and you say amen.’ The young man said, ‘Yes, I do.’ The monk began praying Allah and the young man said amen. In a short time a cloud came and shaded them. They walked under the cloud for a period of the day and then the way was divided into two. The young man walked in his way and the monk took the other. The cloud moved above the young man. The monk said to the young man, ‘You are better than me. It has been responded to you and not to me. Tell me what your story is!’ he told him about his story with the woman. The monk said to him, ‘Allah has forgiven you when you felt afraid of him. Be careful to what you do in the future.’
Al-Asmaei and the repentant Bedouin
Al-Asmaei says, ‘One day I left Basra after I have offered Friday Prayer. I met a Bedouin on a she-camel with a bayonet in his hand. When he saw me he said, ‘Who are you and where have you come from?’ I said to him, ‘I am from the tribe of Asma’.’ He said, ‘Are you the one who is known as al-Asmaei?’ I said, ‘Yes, I am.’ He asked, ‘Where have you come from?’ I said, ‘From the House of Allah.’ He said, ‘Does Allah have a house?’
I said, ‘It is the Kaaba; the inviolable House of Allah.’ He said, ‘What were you doing there?’ I said, ‘I was reciting the speech of Allah.’ He said, ‘Does Allah have speech?’ I said, ‘Yes. It is wonderful speech.’ He said, ‘Recite something of it to me!’ I recited something from the sura of ath-Thaariyat until I reached this verse,
“And in the heaven is your sustenance and that which you are promised.” Qur'an, 51:22
He said, ‘Is this the speech of Allah?’ I said, ‘Yes, it is His speech that He has revealed to His slave Muhammad (s).’ When he heard this, as if he was struck with a thunderbolt from the unseen. His state terribly changed and he was affected by this speech from the bottom of his inners. He threw his bayonet and sword on the ground. He slaughtered his she-camel and distributed its meat among the poor and needy people. He put off his suspicious cloths and said, ‘Do you think that Allah accepts from one who has not served Him during his youth?’ I said, ‘If He does not accept, then why did He sent the prophets with missions? They are responsible for returning the fugitive and guiding the shunner.’ He said, ‘Treat me with your medicine and cure my wound with your drugs.’ I recited to him the rest of the sura of ath-Thaariyat,
“And by the Lord of the heavens and the earth! it is most surely the truth, just as you do speak.” Qur'an, 51:23
When he heard that, he threw himself to the ground, cried with a very great cry and ran towards the desert confusedly. I did not see him after that until the season of the hajj. I saw him cling to the curtains of the Kaaba while saying, ‘Who is like me while You are my Lord?! Who is like me while You are my Lord?!’
I said to him, ‘You, with this speech and this doing, have prevented the people of Allah from circumambulating (around the Kaaba).’ He said, ‘O Asmaei, the House is His House and the slave is His slave. Let me pray and call on Him.’ Then he recited some verses of poetry and disappeared in the crowd. I looked for him but I could not find him. I worried for that and lost my patience and began crying.’[39]
Truthfulness that causes repentance
Once there was a group of highwaymen in the desert looking for a traveler or a caravan to rob their monies. Suddenly they saw a traveler at a distance. They attacked him and said to him, ‘Give us all what you have!’ He said, ‘All what I have is eighty dinars. I have borrowed forty dinars and I have to spend the rest on my living and my travel until I reach my country.’
The chief of the robbers said, ‘Let him alone. The signs of wretchedness and poverty appear clearly on him and he has no money except what is with him.’
The man left and the robbers remained waiting for another prey. But this traveler reached his country, paid his debt back and came back again in the same way. He found the same robbers who said to him, ‘Give us all what you have or we will kill you.’ He said, ‘I had eighty dinars. I paid forty of them for the debt and I have to spend the rest on my living.’ The chief of the robbers ordered his men to frisk him. They did not find in his cloths save forty dinars. The chief said to him, ‘Tell me the truth. What made you, in spite of danger, say the truth with no fear?’ he said, ‘I have promised my mother since my childhood not to say but the truth and not to pollute myself with lying.’
The highwaymen burst into laughter but their chief sighed and said, ‘How strange! You have promised your mother not to say except the truth and you have kept your promise till now but I have not kept the promise that is between me and Allah where He has put us under the obligation to obey Him and not to disobey Him!’ Then he cried, ‘O my Lord, since now I will carry out my promise with You. Repentance! Repentance! Repentance!’
Wonderful repentance
At the time of the Prophet (s) there was a man living in Medina who had the mien of gravity, benevolence and purity as if he was among the believers and the benevolent people. But this man went out some nights and away from the eyes of people to break into some houses to rob them.
One night and when he climbed up a wall of one of the houses he saw much furniture in the courtyard of the house and there was no one in the house except a young woman. He said to himself “I will win two pleasures; stealing the furniture and enjoying this woman.”
At that moment the rays of the unseen shone in his heart and lit the way to his mind. He sat in a corner pondering and then said to himself, “Shall I not die after all these sins and disobediences? Will Allah not receive me after my death and punish me for what I have committed? Shall I find a way on that day (of Resurrection) to flee from the Divine punishment and torment? On that day I shall be afflicted with the wrath of Allah and shall be burnt in the eternal fire of Hell.”
After pondering he felt very sorry and went back home empty-handed. In the morning he went out of his house with the appearance of the faithful and the mien of the benevolent. He came to the mosque and sat near the Prophet (s). Suddenly he saw that woman in the mosque. She came to the Prophet (s) and said to him, ‘I am unmarried woman and I have a big wealth. I have not intended to get married before but last night I imagined as if a thief had come to my house. Although he did not steal anything but he cause me to fear too much. Now I do not dare to live in the house alone. If you please to choose me a husband!’
The Prophet (s) pointed at that thief and said to the woman, ‘If you want to get married, I marry you now to that man.’ She said, ‘I have no objection.’
The Prophet (s) concluded the agreement of marriage between her and that man and they both went to the house. He told her what had happened last night and told her that he was the thief. He said to her that if he had stolen the house and pleased himself with her for some moments, he would have committed great sins and no doubt he would have pleased himself with her for that night only but because he had remembered Allah and the Day of Punishment and refrained from committing the sins, Allah had willed to let him enter her house from the door and to live with her happily forever.[40]
Repentance of Bishr al-Hafi
Bishr was a man of amusements and pleasures. One day Imam Musa bin Ja’far al-Kadhim (s) passed by Bishr’s house in Baghdad and he heard the voices of amusements, music and singing coming out of that house. Then a bondmaid came out carrying some sweeping and threw it in the street. Imam al-Kadhim (s) said to the bondmaid, ‘Is the owner of this house a free man or a slave?’ She said, ‘He is a free man.’
Imam al-Kadhim (s) said to her, ‘You are right! If he was a slave, he would fear his Lord?’
When the bondmaid came into the house, her master, while he was at the table of drinking, said to her, ‘Why did you come back late?’ She said, ‘A man said to me so-and-so…’ He went out bare-footed until he met Imam al-Kadhim (s). He repented before him. He apologized and cried before Imam al-Kadhim (s) feeling shy of his doings.[41]
The repentant will be in Paradise
Mo’awiya bin Wahab has narrated, ‘Once we left Mecca and with us there was a worshipping old man who knew nothing about this matter.[42] He offered full prayers (instead of shortened prayers) in the travel. His nephew, who was a Muslim, was with him. The old man became ill and I said to his nephew, ‘Would you tell him the truth so that Allah may save him?’ The others said, ‘Let him die as he is!’ His nephew could not be patient and he said to his uncle, ‘O uncle, The people have apostatized after the messenger of Allah (s) except some of them and the right (of the caliphate) and obedience were to Ali bin Abu Talib (s) after the messenger of Allah (s).’ The old man breathed and said, ‘I am on this.’ Then he died.
When we came to Abu Abdullah (s), Ali bin as-Sariy told him of this story and Abu Abdullah (s) said, ‘He is a man of Paradise.’ Ali bin as-Sariy said, ‘But he did not acknowledge that except for a moment before his death!’ Abu Abdullah (s) said, ‘Then what do you want from him? By Allah, he will be in Paradise.’[43]
Repentance of Abu Lubaba
When the battle of al-Khandaq came to an end and the Prophet (s) came back to Medina, Gabriel came down to him at noon and ordered him to go to fight the Jews of bani Quraydha who had broken their covenant with the Prophet (s). The Prophet (s) ordered the Muslims to get ready and to offer Asr Prayer there. When the Prophet (s) blockaded the Jews, they said to him, ‘Send us Abu Lubaba to counsel with him our affair.’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘O Abu Lubaba, go to your allies!’ He went to them and they said to him, ‘O Abu Lubaba, what do you see if we submit to Muhammad?’ He said to them, ‘Submit to him but know well that you will be killed.’ And he pointed to his throat. Then he felt sorry for that and said, ‘I have betrayed Allah and His messenger.’ He went to the mosque, tied a rope around his neck and fastened it to the column of the mosque which was called “the column of repentance” later on. He said, ‘I will not untie the rope until I die or that Allah will accept my repentance.’ When the Prophet (s) was informed of that, he said, ‘If he came to us, we would pray Allah to forgive him but as he has turned to Allah so Allah is worthier of him.’ Abu Lubaba fasted during the day and ate in the night what could keep him alive only. His daughter brought him food and untied him when needing to go to the water closet. Some time later, Allah revealed to the Prophet (s) while he was in the house of his wife Umm Salama that Abu Lubaba’s repentance had been accepted. The Prophet (s) said to Umm Salama, ‘O Umm Salama, Allah has accepted the repentance of Abu Lubaba.’ She said to him, ‘O messenger of Allah, let you tell him that!’ The Prophet (s) said to her, ‘Let you do that!’ She took her head out of the room and said, ‘O Abu Lubaba, Allah has accepted your repentance.’ He said, ‘Praise be to Allah!’ The Muslims jumped to untie him but he said, ‘No, by Allah, until the messenger of Allah unties me.’ The Prophet (s) came to him and said, ‘O Abu Lubaba, Allah has accepted your repentance that if you are born today it will suffice you.’ Abu Lubaba said, ‘O messenger of Allah, do I pay all my money as charity?’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘No, you do not.’ He said, ‘Two thirds of it?’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘No.’ He said, ‘A half of it?’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘No.’ Then he said, ‘One third?’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘Yes, you do.’[44]
Repentance of the blacksmith
The narrator of this story says, ‘One day I went to the market of the blacksmiths in Basra and I saw one of them take a hot piece of iron with his bare hands, put it on the anvil and his boy hammer it. I became astonished at seeing that and how the flaming iron did not affect his hands. I asked the blacksmith about that and he said, ‘Sometime rainlessness had afflicted the city of Basra where people began dying of hunger. One day a young woman, who was our neighbor, came to me and said, ‘I am afraid that my children may die of hunger. Could you help us with some food?’ when I saw her beauty, I loved her. I suggested to her to commit the sin. She felt shy and hastened to her house.
After some days she came to my house and said, ‘O man, I fear for my children to die. Fear Allah and come to help us!’ I asked her to make love with her again but she felt shy and went out of my house.
Two days later she came to me and said, ‘I submit to you just to save the lives of my orphan children but please take me to an empty place so that no one can see us.’ I took her to an empty place but when I wanted to sleep with her, I saw her tremble terribly. I said to her, ‘What is the matter with you?’ She said, ‘You have promised to take me to an empty place but I see that you want to commit the sin with me before five lookers.’ I said, ‘O woman, there is no one in this house. Where are the five persons?’ She said, ‘The two angels who are responsible for me, the two angels who are responsible for you and Allah the Almighty Who sees our doings. How can I commit this sin before all of these ones?’
Her speech affected me too much that I began trembling and I did not let myself be polluted with sin. I left her alone and helped her with food until the time of barrenness elapsed. I saved her and her orphans from death and so she prayed Allah for me with this prayer “O my Lord, as this slave of Yours has put out the fire of his lust for the sake of You, protect him from the fire of this world and the afterworld!’ Thus fire did not affect my body at all.’
Repentance of the people of Younus
Sa’eed bin Jubayr and a group of interpreters say when mentioning the story of the people of Prophet Younus (Jonah) (s), ‘The people of Prophet Younus (s) lived in a land called Nineveh in Mosul (in Iraq). They abstained from believing in Prophet Younus (s) who had invited them to believe in Allah and monotheism and to refrain from committing sins. He invited them for thirty-three years but no one believed in him except two persons; one was called “Robil” and the other “Tanokha”. Robil was from the house of prophethood, knowledge and wisdom and he had been a companion of Prophet Younus (s) since too long. Tanokha was a weak man. He was ascetic and a sincere worshipper. He was a woodcutter carrying firewood on his head and living out of his toils. When Prophet Younus (s) saw that his people did not respond to him and did not believe, he became angry and complained that to Allah. He said, ‘O my Lord, You have sent me to my people while I was thirty years old and I kept on inviting them to believe in You and in Your mission and I threatened them of Your wrath and punishment but they disbelieved in me, denied my prophethood and disparaged my mission. They threatened me and I feared that they would kill me. O my Lord, inflict your torment on them for they are unbelieving people.’ Allah revealed to Prophet Younus (s), ‘There are fetuses, children, old men, old women and weak persons among your people and I am the Fair Judge. My mercy has preceded My wrath. I do not punish the children for the sins of the adults of your people. I like to be patient with them and to wait for their repentance. I have sent you to your people to be a keeper to them; to pity them with mercy, to treat them with the magnanimity of prophethood, to be patient to them with the prudence of the mission and to be to them as the curing doctor who fully knows their medicines. Then you asked me out of your (misestimation) to bring down torment upon them out of your impatience. My slave Noah was more patient with his people, better in his companionship with them and more serious in excusing them than you so I became angry for his anger and responded to him when he called on Me.’
Prophet Younus (s) said, ‘O my Lord, I have become angry with them for the sake of You and I prayed You against them because they disobeyed You. By Your glory, I will not be kind to them at all and I will not look at them with pity after they have disbelieved in me and denied my prophethood. My Lord, bring down Your torment upon them for they do not believe forever.’ Allah the Almighty said, ‘O Younus, I respond to your request. I will afflict them with torment. A severe torment will come to them on Wednesday, the middle of Shawwal after the sunshine. Tell them of that!’
Robil stayed with his people in their village. When the month of Shawwal came, Robil cried loudly at the top of the mountain, ‘I am Robil, who is kind and merciful to you. This is the Month of Shawwal. It has come to you and your prophet, the messenger of your Lord Younus has told you that Allah has revealed to him that torment would afflict you on Friday the middle of Shawwal after the sunshine and Allah will not fail in His promise. See what you will do!’
They said to him, ‘O Robil, what do advise us to do? You are knowing and wise and you are kind and merciful to us.’ Robil said to them, ‘I see that when the dawn of Wednesday comes, you should separate the children from their mothers and begin crying and weeping, the young and old of you. Pray Allah, repent, turn to Him and say “Our Lord, we have been unjust to ourselves and we have disbelieved in Your prophet. We have turned to You and repented of our sins. If You do not forgive us, surely we will be among the losers and the punished. O You, the most Merciful of the merciful ones, Accept our repentance!’
All the people agreed to do as Robil had advised them. When Wednesday came, Robil left the village to where he could hear their cries. When the sun shone, a yellow, dark and terrible storm blew with roaring and rustling. When the people saw that, they began crying and clamoring so loudly. They repented and asked Allah to forgive them. The children began crying wanting their mothers. When it was noon and the doors of the Heaven were opened and the wrath of the Lord calmed down, the Merciful Lord had mercy upon them, responded to their prayers, accepted their repentance and forgave their sins. When the people of Younus saw that the torment had been turned away from them, they came down from the tops of mountains towards their houses. They joined their women and children and thanked Allah for turning His wrath away from them.[45]
Repentance of the young prisoner
Sheikh as-Sadooq mentions that Imam as-Sadiq (s) has said, ‘One some prisoners of war had been brought to the Prophet (s). He ordered them to be killed except one of them. The prisoner said to the Prophet (s), ‘O Muhammad, may my father and mother die for you! Why did you set me free from among the others?’ The Prophet (s) said, ‘Gabriel has told me from Allah the Almighty that you have had five aspects that Allah and His messenger like; jealousy of your women, generosity, good manners, truthfulness and courage.’ When the man heard this, he became a Muslim and he became a sincere believer. He fought with the Prophet (s) so bravely until he was martyred.[46]
Repentance of one of tyrants’ assistants
Abdullah bin Hammad narrates that Ali bin Abu Hamza has said, ‘I had a friend from the clerks of the Umayyads. One day he asked me to take permission to him to come to Abu Abdullah (Imam as-Sadiq) (s). I asked permission and Abu Abdullah (s) permitted him to come. When he came in, he greeted Abu Abdullah (s) and sat down. Then he said, ‘May I die for you! I have worked in the divan of the Umayyads and I have got much money instead. I was indifferent to its legality or illegality.’ Abu Abdullah (s) said, ‘If the Umayyads had not found people writing to them (clerks), collecting taxes, fighting for them and attending their congregational prayers, they would have not extorted our right. And if the people had left them alone, they would have not found anything except what they had had in their hands.’ The clerk said, ‘Do I have an exit from this situation?’ Imam as-Sadiq (s) said to him, ‘Will you do as I say to you?’ He said, ‘Yes, I will.’ Abu Abdullah (s) said to him, ‘Get rid of all what you have got from their divan. Whoever you know, pay his money back to him and whoever you do not know, give his money as charity and I assure you that I will intercede for you with Allah to take you to Paradise.’ The clerk kept silent long and then said, ‘May I die for you! I will do!’
Ibn Abu Hamza added, ‘The young man (the clerk) went back with us to Kufa. He did not leave anything of his properties unless he got rid of it even his clothes which were on him. I collected some money for him. We bought him some cloths and gave him some money to spend on his living. After some months he fell ill. We visited him from time to time. One day I visited him but he was dying. He opened his eyes and said to me, ‘O Ali, your friend (imam as-Sadiq) has carried out his promise to me.’ Then he died and we prepared the affairs of his funerals. Later on, I went to Abu Abdullah (s). When he saw me, he said, ‘O Ali, we have carried out our promise to your friend (the clerk).’ I said, ‘You are right, may I die for you! By Allah, this is what he has said to me before his death.’[47]
Wonderful repentance
One day I went to perform preaching in the city of Bandar Abbas (south Iran) which was the centre of the governorate of Hormozgan. It was the anniversary of the birth of Imam al-Mehdi (s) on that day and the night was of Friday. It was decided that we should recite Du’a[48] Komayl at the end of the meeting.
As I have learnt Du’a Komayl by heart, so I could recite it even in the darkness. The meeting had special spiritual environment and the morale of the attendants was high.
A few moments before reciting Du’a Komayl by heart, a young man, who was about twenty years old and whom I had not seen before, gave me a letter in my hand.
After Du’a Komayl had finished and I went home, I opened the letter and read it. I wondered too much at it. It was written in it: “I was not from the people who attended such meetings. Last year about midday, one of my friends told me by the telephone that he would come to me at four o’clock in the afternoon to go together to a certain place. He came to me and while we were in the car, I asked him, ‘Where are you going to?’ He said, ‘My parents have traveled for some days and our house is empty now. I want us to be alone for sometime. I have invited two beautiful young women. They are in the house now and ready for us to sleep with them. He took me to one of the rooms and he went to another. When I came into the room and wanted to sleep with the young woman, I remembered that I had read a poster concerning your program of preaching where it had been written in it “Du’a Komayl in the night of Friday”. I knew that this Dua’ had been said by Ameerul Mo’mineen (s) but I had never attended such meetings before. During that satanic state I felt too shy of Ameerul Mo’mineen (s) where it had overcome me until I hated myself. I got up, went towards the door and fled from the house. I was still confused wandering in the streets until the night came. I came to the mosque and sat behind you immediately in the darkness of the mosque. I began crying ashamedly since the beginning of the Du’a until its end. I prayed Allah to prepare the affairs of marriage for me to save me from being polluted with sins. It was no more than two or three months after that when I got married to a girl from a noble and honorable family after a suggestion offered by my father and mother. I had not seen a beautiful one like her at all. Now I feel that this grace is due to the blessing of refraining from that sin and due to participating in the Du’a of Ameerul Mo’mineen (s). Since the beginning of this year I have attended all the meetings and I have written this letter to you to know the many advantages of such meetings especially for the youth.”
Repentance due to a meaningful sentence
One day one of the students of Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi said to allama al-Majlisi, ‘I have a neighbor polluted with sins. Most nights he holds meetings of amusement and diversion with his friends in his house which bother me and the other neighbors. He is proud and conceited and I fear to enjoin him to do the right and to forbid him from the wrong and I cannot change my house with another.’
Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi said to him, ‘When you invite him to have dinner with you one night, invite me too so that I can talk to him and that Allah may have mercy on him and make him refrain and repent of his bad doings.’
The faithful man invited his proud neighbor and he accepted his invitation. Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi attended the meeting too. Some moments of silence passed and suddenly the proud man, who was astonished at seeing Allama al-Majlisi there, said addressing Allama al-Majlisi, ‘What do you say about this life, clergymen?’ Allama al-Majlisi said, ‘Would you please tell us what you yourselves say about this life and what you want?’ He said, ‘I and my likes have too much speech about it that we say and keep to. For example if one eats from another one’s food, he must observe the right of that food. He should not betray him (the man who gives the food) at all.’ Allama al-Majlisi asked him, ‘How old are you?’ He said, ‘Sixty years.’ Al-Majlisi said to him, ‘During these sixty years have you not eaten from the blessings and food of Allah? Have you observed His right even for one time?’ The proud man woke up of his inadvertence. He bowed his head ashamedly and his tears fell down. He left the meeting but he could not sleep until the morning. In the morning he came to his neighbor and asked him about the religious scholar who was in his house last night. His neighbor said to him, ‘He was Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi’ and gave his address. He went to allama al-Majlisi and repented before him. Then he became one of the benevolent and virtuous people of that time.
Could you change the fate?
Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi was interested too much in the matter of enjoining the right, forbidding the wrong and refraining from sins. In his quarter some proud, dissolute and low persons lived. They did not refrain from drinking wine, gambling and holding meetings of amusement, diversion and the likes.
Allama al-Majlisi often enjoined them to do the right, forbade them from doing the wrong and advised them to abstain from sins and to worship Allah. But this behavior of al-Majlisi made the chief of these villains and his men angry; they waited for an opportunity to get rid of him.
One day they met one of al-Majlisi’s students. He was good-hearted, sincere and pure. They said to him, ‘Empty your house of your wife and children on the night of Friday, serve us dinner and invite Allama al-Majlisi too. Beware that no one should know about this meeting; otherwise it will be bad for you!’
Everything was alright and al-Majlisi thought that this sincere student had invited him to dinner.
The villain persons had agreed to gather in the house of that man at the beginning of the night and to bring with them a female dancer. When Allama al-Majlisi would come and the table would be served, the dancer would appear with a mandolin and a tambourine in her hands and she would dance before the all. Then one of the villains would go to tell the neighbors at the same time so that they would come to see by themselves al-Majlisi in such a bad meeting. They would do that in order to dishonor al-Majlisi before people and thus they would get rid of him.
When al-Majlisi came into the house, he did not see the owner of the house but instead he found a group of the villain and mean persons sitting in the room. He perceived, due to his insight, that there was a plot against him. Before no long a female dancer appeared from behind the curtains with a mandolin and a tambourine in her hands. She began dancing and singing. She sang this verse of poetry:
“Do not leave me alone in the place of the virtuous,
if you do not accept save with that, then change your fate!”
Al-Majlisi, who was a man of Gnosticism and love to the Lord, began crying and repeating the saying of the singer (dancer) while turning sincerely to Allah the Almighty: “If You do not accept save with that, then change Your fate!”
Suddenly the dancer covered her face and hair, threw the mandolin and the tambourine to the ground and prostrated herself before Allah with tears and she said, ‘O my Lord, I have repented and turned to You…’ The others woke up from their inadvertence and began crying when they saw this scene. They bowed to kiss the hand of that old man (al-Majlisi) and they repented of all their sins.
Wakefulness of ar-Rasheed’s son
The author of Abwab al-Jinan, al-Wa’idh as-Sabzuwari in his book Jami’ an-Norayn, p.317 and ayatollah an-Nahawandi in his book Khazeenatul Jawahir, p.291 mentioned that Haroon ar-Rasheed, the Abbasid caliph, had a good son with a pure nature as a pearl coming out of a polluted shell and salty water. This son loved the meetings of the ascetics and worshippers and due to associating with these people his heart turned way from the pleasures of this worldly life and he hated the authority and the throne of kingdom of his father. He paid much attention to purify his heart from the dirt of worldly lusts and satanic tendencies. He did not wear but simple and cheap woolen cloths. He always associated with the virtuous and benevolent people. His heart loved purity, humane aspects and bright truth. He often visited the graveyards to take lessons and always cries bitterly there.
One day the vizier of Haroon ar-Rasheed was present in the meeting when this son of Haroon, who was called Qassim and surnamed as al-Mu’taman, came to the meeting. The vizier Ja’far al-Barmaki laughed. Haroon ar-Rasheed asked why he had laughed and he said, ‘I laughed at this boy who has exposed you before the public. I wish you had no such a son! Look at his state, cloths, behavior and his sitting with the poor and needy!’
Haroon said, ‘He has the right to do that because we have not given him any position or high rank yet. It would be better to appoint him as the wali on one of the provinces.’ He ordered his son to sit beside him and he began advising him then said to him, ‘I want to entrust you with one of the provinces. Which one do you want?’
He said, ‘O father, leave me alone! I like to worship Allah more than to involve in the rule. Consider that you have not had this son!’
His father, Haroon, said to him, ‘Is it not possible to worship Allah besides the rule? You have to accept the position on one of the provinces and I will appoint a good vizier to you to help you in managing the affairs of the rule and then you can practice your worship and obedience.’
Haroon ignored or feigned inattention that the rule was the legal right of the infallible imams and the guardians of Allah and it was not permissible to accept the emirate or any position in the government from the unjust and oppressive rulers who had extorted the caliphate and consequently the verdicts of Allah could not be executed in such an extorted government and no worship would be accepted by Allah in such government. Accepting the emirate that is granted by unjust rulers and tyrants is considered as a great sin if it is illegal.
Qassim said, ‘I do not accept this at any cost and I do not accept any emirate in your government.’ Haroon said, ‘You are the son of the caliph and the ruler over the great state and it does not fit you to sit with the poor or associate with the common people. This causes me disgrace before the public and the notables.’ Qassim said, ‘You too, by your doings, shame me and disgrace me before the saints and the virtuous people…’ The advice of Haroon and the attendants in the meeting was of no use and Qassim insisted on his situation but he kept silent before their sayings.
Then they entrusted him to be the wali of Egypt and the attendants of the meeting congratulated him for that. When the night came, he fled from Baghdad to Basra. In the morning they looked for him everywhere but they could not find him.
A man from Basra, called Abdullah al-Basri, says, ‘I had a house in Basra whose wall was damaged. One day I went looking for a worker to mend the wall. I passed by the mosque and I found a young man busy reciting the Qur'an and putting a shovel and a basket in front of him. I asked him, ‘do you work?’ He said, ‘Yes, I do. Allah has created us to gain permissible livelihood by the toil of our hands and the sweat of our forehead.’ I said to him, ‘I want you to come with me to my house to mend a damaged wall.’ He said, ‘First how much is the fee?’ I said, ‘I pay you one dirham.’ He said, ‘Alright!’
He went with me and began working until the sunset. I saw that he had worked as much as the work of twelve men so I wanted to give him more than one dirham but he refused and said, ‘I do not take more than one dirham.’ In the next morning I went to look for him but I did not find him. I asked about him and it was said to me that he did not work except on Saturdays.
When Saturday came, I went early to the mosque and I found him there. I took him with me to the house. He began working. When it was time for prayer, he stopped working, washed his hands and legs and offered the obligatory prayer. When he finished his prayer, he continued his work until the sunset. I gave him his fee and he left. Since the wall was not completed yet, I waited until the next Saturday. I went to the same place but it was said to me that he had been ill since two or three days. I asked about his house and it was said to me that he lived in the old quarter in a ruined place. I went and saw him sleeping in the sickbed. I sat beside him and put his head in my lap. He opened his eyes and said, ‘Who are you?’ I said, ‘I am the man for whom you have worked for two days. I am Abdullah al-Basri.’ He said, ‘I knew you. Do you want to know me?’ I said, ‘Yes, who are you?’ He said, ‘I am Qassim the son of Haroon ar-Rasheed.’
I got up from my place and began shaking because of fear. My face turned pale. I said to myself, ‘If Haroon knew that his son had worked for me, he would punish me severely and would tear down my house!’ Qassim noticed my fear and said, ‘Do not fear! I have not introduced myself to anyone except you. If I did not see the signs of death, I would not tell you that too. I want you, when I leave this world, to give this shovel and basket to the one who will prepare a grave to me and give this Qur'an that was my entertainment to the people of the Qur'an.’ He gave me a ring and said to me, ‘My father appears to the public on Mondays. If you go to Baghdad, please go to him on that day, put this ring before him and say to him that his son Qassim has left this world. He says to you: since you have a great ability to collect monies in this world, add this ring to your wealth and answer (Allah) instead of me (Qassim) on the Day of Resurrection because I cannot tolerate punishment.’ He said that and tried to get up but he could not. He wanted to get up again but he could not. He said to me, ‘O Abdullah, please help me because Ameerul Mo’mineen (s) has come to me!’ I helped him to get up but suddenly his soul left this world as if he was a ray of light that lit and went out.
Repentance of the Magus
The great jurisprudent and famous philosopher Mulla Ahmad an-Naraqi says in his book Taq Dees, ‘One day Prophet Moses (s) went to Mount Toor and on his way he saw an old man from the Magi who worshipped the fire. The Magus, who had been polluted with disbelief and deviation, said to Prophet Moses (s), ‘Where do you want to go and with whom you want to talk?’ Prophet Moses (s) said, ‘I want to go to Mount Toor in the sea of an-Noor to talk to Allah the Almighty and to beg Him and to ask Him for forgiveness because of your sins and disobediences and I want to apologize to Him for that.’ The Magus said, ‘Could you take my letter with you to your god?’ Prophet Moses (s) said, ‘What letter?’ He said, ‘Say to your god that your magus slave says to you: you have to feel shy of yourself before all these creatures. If it is you who provide me with the means of subsistence, stop it. I do not want your favor for neither you are my god nor am I your slave.’
Prophet Moses (s) became very angry at the saying of this ignorant and stupid old man. He became annoyed because of these impolite words and said to himself, ‘I am going to talk to my Lord and it is not fit to mention such speech in His sacred presence. If I want to regard the sanctity of that place and the sanctity of the Lord, I have to ignore such silly speech.’
Moses (s) went to the mount and began talking to Allah while shedding tears. He was alone with Allah the Almighty in a state that could not happen to any other on the earth. When his confidential talk with his Lord finished and he wanted to come back to the city, he was called, ‘O Moses, where is the letter of My slave?’ Moses (s) said, ‘I feel shy to tell You what he has said. You know what obscene words that disbeliever, who worships the fire, has said!’ It was said to him, ‘Go, as My deputy, to that angry slave, greet him and say to him kindly, ‘If you are ashamed and you think that My being your god is a shame to you, I do not consider you as shame or disgrace to Me and I have never intended to be your enemy any time! If you do not want us, We want you with all dignity and respect and if you do not want My subsistence, I do give you from the table of My generosity without considering it as a favor on you. My blessings and subsistence are for the all, My mercy and generosity are infinite and My existence is eternal.’
People are like children living on the table of His generosity and favor. It is like a kind mother who suckles her children. Yes, one of the children may become angry and refuse to suck from the breast of this kind mother but she does not cut her relation with this child. She tries to put her breast into the child’s mouth to suckle it her milk. The child may turn its head or close its mouth but the mother kisses its mouth and says to it kindly and mercifully, ‘O my dear child, do not turn your face away from me. Look at this breast which is full of delicious milk. Put it in your mouth. It is for you.’
When Prophet Moses (s) came back from Mount Toor in an-Noor valley, he met that Magus in his way and mentioned what Allah had said to him. The words of Allah affected the heart of the magus and that Divine speech, which was full of mercy and kindness, cleaned his heart and soul from the dirt of disbelief and disobedience. This answer was as a warning where the magus lived in the darkness of disbelief and deviation and then the light of this answer shone inside his soul.
The magus felt shy of himself and bowed his head towards the ground and began wiping his tears with his sleeve. Then he raised his head and said sadly while his eyes were shedding tears, ‘O Moses, you have set fire to my heart! You have burnt my soul! What is this answer you have brought to me from my Lord?! How could I dare to send such a letter to my Lord?! My face has blackened. Woe unto me! O Moses, please offer to me faith and teach me the truth!’ He began talking to Allah, ‘O my Lord, how deviate I have been! Take my soul and relieve me from this great remorse!’ Then Prophet Moses (s) taught him the principles of faith and Divine knowledge. The magus acknowledged them, repented of his sins and then his soul left to the otherworld.
Repentance and peace with the truth
In the year 1331 (solar calendar of hijra), when I was nine years old and the religious authority of the Shia at that time was great ayatollah Sayyid al-Boroujerdi, a wonderful story of the stories of repentance took place that I think I have to mention here in this book.
There was a man living in a quarter in the south of Tehran. He was proud, strong and arrogant where most of the villain and proud persons were afraid of him and no one of them dared to dispute with him or to face his dagger.
He did not refrain from committing any vice like drinking, gambling, taking bribes by force, causing terror, fright, oppression…etc.
He was at the peak of his powerfulness and pride when a ray of the Divine mercy and care lit inside his heart.
He changed all his properties into money. He put the money in a bag and came with it to the city of Qom to announce his repentance. He went to great ayatollah Sayyid al-Boroujerdi and said to him, ‘I have gained all this money in the bag illegally and now I do not know the real owners of it. It has become too heavy to me and so I have brought it to you to guide me and to show me the path of repentance and turning to Allah.’
Ayatollah al-Boroujerdi loved the meetings with such people who had good hearts. He said to him, ‘It is not enough to get rid of this money only. You have to put off all your cloths except the underwear and then you can go back to your city. At once the man put off his cloths an put them before ayatollah al-Boroujerdi. He asked him permission to leave, greeted him and turned towards the door to leave.
When ayatollah al-Boroujerdi saw that the man was a real repentant, his tears fell down and he called him to come back. He gave him five thousand tomans (Iranian currency) from his own money, embraced him warmly and farewelled him after praying Allah for him.
When the man went back to Tehran, he was too humble and full of love to Allah and to His people. He began working with these five thousand tomans to live honestly. His life became better and better. Every year he paid the fifth of his profits to the poor and needy people besides his charities to them.
He began attending the religious meetings and then he himself established a meeting in Tehran.
It happened that when the first religious lecture was held in this meeting, I was twenty-six years old and I was studying in the Hawza of Qom and I often went to Tehran in Muharram, Safar and Ramadan to preach in the meetings and mosques there.
I got acquainted with him through these religious meetings. One of my acquaintances told me about this man’s repentance and what had happened to him near ayatollah al-Boroujerdi. I made friends with him for a long time. In the year 1367 (solar calendar of hijra) he fell ill and sent for me to visit him. I decided to visit him on Friday but in the night of Friday (Thursday evening) at eleven o’clock his wife told me that he had died in his bed.
His family and relatives, who had been there half an hour before his death, said that he had began talking with the Master of the Martyrs Imam Husayn (s). He said to him, ‘I have repented of all my previous bad deeds and I have put on the dress of your servants and I have served sincerely in your meetings. I have recommended in my will that a third of my wealth should be given to the Treasury of Charitable Loans to be spent on marrying the youth. I have no wish in my life save to see your bright face in this last moment of this world and to die on this.’ Then he breathed a deep and comfortable breath, greeted Imam Husayn (s) while smiling and left this world.
[1] “Bint” means daughter of.
[2] Al-Khisaal, p.195.
[3] Abul Qassim is the surname of Prophet Muhammad (s).
[4] Biharul Anwar, vol. 6 p.26.
[5] Janaba is major ritual impurity.
[6] Houri is any of the virgins of the Muslim paradise, promised as wives to believers.
[7] Biharul Anwar, vol. 68 p. 282, al-Khara’ij wel-Jara’ih, p.184.
[8] Rawdhaat al-Jannaat, vol.4 p.107.
[9] Rooh al-Bayan, vol.2 p.179.
[10] Ibid., p.181.
[11] Rooh al-Bayan, vol.2 p.225.
[12] Ibid., p.235.
[13] Biharul Anwar, vol. 47 p.145-146.
[14] Prophet Muhammad (s).
[15] Imam Ali (s).
[16] Biharul Anwar, vol. 94 p.20.
[17] Al-Mahajja al-Baydha’, vol.7 p.267.
[18] Manhaj as-Sadiqeen, vol.8 p.110.
[19] Noor ath-Thaqalayn, vol.3 p.249.
[20] Ta’ziya is special speeches, lectures and ceremonies performed during Aashura’ (the tenth day or the first ten days) in Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar during which the anniversary of the battle of Kerbala and the martyrdom of Imam Husayn (s) and his household and companions was.
[21] He was Imam Husayn’s brother.
[22] Maghrib is sunset (prayer) and Isha’ is evening (prayer).
[23] Biharul Anwar, vol. 6 p.23.
[24] Tathkiratul Awliya’, p.79.
[25] Tafseer al-Safi, vol.1 p.738.
[26] Ubaydillah bin Ziyad was the wali of Kufa appointed by Yazeed bin Mo’awiya the Umayyad caliph.
[27] Asr means afternoon.
[28] Al-Irshad by al-Mufeed, p.224-225.
[29] Tareekh of at-Tabari, vol.3 p.308.
[30] Al-Malhoof, p.160.
[31] Hurr in Arabic means free or noble.
[32] Tareekh of at-Tabari, vol.3 p.320.
[33] The imam of the martyrs (Peeshwaaye shaheedan), p.394.
[34] Unsur Shaja’at, vol.3 p.169.
[35] From the Du’a of Arafa by Imam Husayn (s), Mafateeh al-Jinan.
[36] He is an Egyptian Islamic propagandist.
[37] The Element of Courage (Unsur Shaja’at), vol.3 p.170.
[38] Sham: now Damascus but then encompassed Syria, Jordon, Lebanon and Palestine.
[39] Tafseer Kashful Asrar, vol.9 p.319.
[40] Asrar al-Mi’raj, p.28.
[41] Rawdhaat al-Jannaat, vol.2 p.130.
[42] That the Prophet (s) had died, many Muslims apostatized and the caliphate was Imam Ali’s right.
[43] Usool Al-Kafi, vol.2 p.441.
[44] Tafseer al-Burhan, vol.2 p.155.
[45] Tafseer As-Safi, vol.1 p.767. We have mentioned it in summary.
[46] Biharul Anwar, vol. 71 p.384.
[47] Biharul Anwar, vol. 47 p.382.
[48] Supplication.
source : REPENTANCE THE CRADLE OF MERCY By Husayn Ansariyan
